‘He was the life of the team’: Killings of prep football players linked to one rapper from The Crest in Vallejo

BAY POINT — Guardian Harper and Tamarcus Williams had much in common in life and death.

They were both student athletes from the Bay Area who made lasting impacts on those around them, part of the class of 2024, and barely into adulthood when they were killed in what appear to be targeted shootings.

Their deaths occurred roughly seven weeks apart last year — Harper, 18, was gunned down at a house party in Bay Point by intruders who allegedly bragged about it online afterward. Williams, 19, was sitting in a parked vehicle outside a Fairfield smoke shop when a man walked up to him and shot through the passenger window, then ran to a getaway car, authorities say.

They might have had something else in common: the same killer.

On Aug. 22, prosecutors in Solano County filed charges of murder and personal use of a firearm against 20-year-old Adonnis Evans, a Vallejo native who raps under the stage name Lul Dada. Court records say Fairfield police quickly identified Evans as a suspect in Williams’ death, thanks in part to video surveillance that allegedly captured Evans killing the teen outside of a smoke shop on the 1300 block of West Texas Street.

Catching Evans has been another matter. Despite having an active murder warrant for six months, he remains a free man, and continues to put out music with references to shootings and gang rivalry. He hasn’t been charged in Harper’s death, but he is a suspect, a determination police based on cellphone records, data from a Kia used by the killers and references to the shooting on recorded calls and social media, according to court filings.

Eight days ago, Evans released a music video for “Wearing Bodies,” a song containing a lyric about Evans getting “a new tear drop” tattoo — a symbol of committing a homicide. Evans allegedly recited that same line over a jail call with a relative just hours after Harper was killed last year, after stating, “I play offense.” In another jail call, which included Evans’ relatives and a suspected fellow gang member, the participants read from Harper’s Instagram page and joked about how a grieving loved one “can get it too,” authorities said.

“Stop posting (Harper’s) football pictures,” a voice in the background allegedly blurted out during the call. In another recorded jail call, Evans and his relative allegedly discuss how there can be no more “innocents” ever since a person they cared about was killed. Police interpreted this remark to justify killing Harper, whose death perplexed friends and family precisely because he wasn’t involved in gangs.

“He was the life of the team,” said El Cerrito High School football head coach Tim Robinson, who served as assistant head coach for two years of Harper’s tenure and remembers him as a hard worker, from the classroom to the weight room. “Not only did he rub off on the players but he rubbed off on the whole coaching staff.”

Authorities have attributed Harper’s killing to a gang rivalry between groups based in Vallejo’s Country Club Crest neighborhood — an area made famous by the late rapper Mac Dre — and a West Vallejo gang called $hred Money, which one of Harper’s relatives was allegedly associated with. They’ve linked other shootings to the same feud, including one in Oakland hours before Harper’s death, and one in Vallejo the next day, allegedly targeting Crest gang members in retaliation for Harper.

A promising future

Harper graduated from El Cerrito High School in 2024 where he played many different positions. He split his time as a student athlete between El Cerrito and Benicia High, where he was a Bay Area News Group Athlete of the Week in 2021. After high school, he attended American River College and San Francisco City College, continuing football with the goal of transferring to a four-year college. The day before he was killed, he got a job at a local Home Depot and proudly told family members, his mother later told police.

On the night of June 14, he headed out to East Contra Costa with friends for what he told his mother was supposed to be a pool party. Instead, it was a rowdy house party in Bay Point, at a home on the 2100 block of Mendocino Drive, rented by a company that puts on parties around the Bay Area. They hired security guards to pat down guests on the way in, the organizers would later tell police.

Harper had several friends there, who would all later recount he seemed happy and carefree. One even noted he was wearing clothes that made it hard to run away, an indicator he didn’t sense looming danger, according to court records.

The mood shifted around midnight, when a guest lost her phone and began accusing others of stealing it, authorities said. Other guests thought she was dampening the vibe and headed out the door, including Harper. As he was on the front lawn, two masked gunmen ran up and opened fire, and two women saw them coming and ducked behind Harper, authorities said. Harper was struck multiple times, and died on the grass before police got there. The two women were injured but able to get themselves to a hospital.

An outpouring of grief followed. The next few days, numerous online memories went up on local Facebook and Instagram pages, lauding Harper’s impact as a player and friend, some referencing his nickname, “Beasty.”

“Guardian was a beautiful soul. He touched so many peoples’ hearts and was one of the most genuine people I have ever met,” a friend wrote on an online fundraiser. “My brother branched out to so many different avenues of life and always strived for greatness. He was one of one and was a light in every room he walked in.”

Not all online responses were positive. Police say in the aftermath of Harper’s killing, they recovered a video posted by another Vallejo rapper from The Crest, in which he implies his gang is responsible. Evans can be seen in the video as it pans across the room, according to court records.

“Yo, we smoking Beasty,” the narrator allegedly says, an apparent reference to Harper.

Seven weeks after Harper’s death, at around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, Evans allegedly shot into a Kia containing Williams outside the Fairfield smoke shop, while Evans’ girlfriend was buying them corn chips inside. Afterward, he ran to his waiting Nissan and the two drove south toward San Jose, according to police. The Fairfield community had a similar outpouring for Williams, an Armijo High graduate and student athlete.

“Tamarcus was more than just a player on this team—he was family. His hard work and energy left a lasting impact on all of us,” says a post on the Armijo Royals Facebook page. “He brought laughter to the locker room and big tackles on the field.”

Back at El Cerrito High, Harper’s legacy is still felt. Some of his teammates in 2022-23 are graduating this year, said Coach Robinson, and they all remember the “enthusiastic, happy kid” who never missed a practice and inspired others with his intensity.

“Now we have an award ceremony on his behalf,” Robinson said. “I gave out the first annual Guardian Harper award this year.”