Mac Dre remains may be moved after theft of tombstone

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

The family of late rapper Mac Dre, whose real name was Andre Hicks, is considering moving his remains from Oakland to Vallejo, California, after the rapper's 50-pound tombstone was stolen last week from the Oakland Mountain View Cemetery. The discovery was made after a fan was unable to locate the rapper's grave.

The late rapper's uncle Bernard Hicks told Oakland's The Argus, "We just think it's some kind of fan. Some crazed fan who put it in their house. They said it was taken and they didn't have no suspects, that's all we know right now."

There's a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the thieves but, according to Hicks, the family will not prosecute if the tombstone is returned. He said, "There will be no trouble, no going to the police, we just want the headstone returned."

Mac Dre was killed in a drive-by shooting in Kansas City in November of 2004. He was riding in a van traveling north on Highway 71 when another vehicle pulled up on the driver's side and began firing into the vehicle. The van swerved across the highway median and down an embankment. Hicks was thrown from the vehicle, but police believe he died from the gunshot wounds. The van's driver survived the incident and was able to walk for help.

Hicks had been recording since the late '80s as Mac Dre and was linked to a Vallejo, California, gang called the Romper Room Gang. The gang was suspected in a string of bank and business robberies in the Vallejo area. The rapper was eventually hit with conspiracy to commit bank robbery charges in 1991 after he and several associates were arrested while preparing to rob a bank.

The rapper was released from prison in 1996 and resumed his recording career.