Snoop Dogg’s entire career could’ve been derailed if he didn’t beat the 1993 murder charge. He and his bodyguard were ultimately acquitted of the charges but rarely has either party divulged the details of what led up to the fatal shooting of Philip Woldemariam. During a recent interview with Cam Capone News, Snoop’s former bodyguard McKinley Lee Jr. tearfully shared his side of the story in explaining how the media portrayed them in the wrong light while authorities knew the truth about the incident.
Brenda Chase/Online USA inc./Getty Images
Lee explained that he was at Snoop Dogg’s place when he heard a disturbance going on outside which he found out to be a man arguing with someone from their team. Lee said that he saw a man in the vehicle before a firearm was popping out of the window of the car. Lee said that he took Snoop upstairs and tried to simmer things down before it got too heated.
Lee said that they eventually left for the studio with their Sean Abrams until they realized that they forgot something at Snoop’s place so they were forced to turn around. That’s when a man flagged them down and tried to apologize for the confrontation earlier, explaining that his friend’s behavior stemmed from a diabetic episode. “When Snoop pulled over, I take my gun and I set it on my lap,” Lee said. “And Snoop was in the driver seat and now I’m looking to my right because the guy is backing up and as he’s backing up, I have my gun on my lap. He’s backing all the way up to the cement and there’s a slight incline on the hill. And he kept backing up so now he’s approximately — I’d say — fifteen, twenty feet away from me,” he continued.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
“All of a sudden, the bushes flutter and you see somebody run out of the bushes and it was Philip Woldemariam at the time,” Lee recalled. “He runs and he gets to his guy and his guy grabs him. He pushes him away and when he pushes, he lifts his shirt and he reaches. When I saw him start to reach, that’s when I took my gun and I fired.” Lee said that he was trying to keep Snoop Dogg out of harm’s way and tried to hit Woldemariam’s lower body but because they were on an incline, the bullet went through his hip and shoulder areas. Lee explained six shots were fired and Woldemariam began running before collapsing 50 to 75 yards away from the shooting.
Lee concluded that he doesn’t like to glorify the situation or even discuss the situation, adding that he would like to make peace with Woldemariam’s family, even though he knows that it is unlikely.
Check the full clip below.