The man accused of killing influential Atlanta rapper Trouble on June 5 is now in custody. The 34-year-old musician born Mariel Orr was fatally shot while sleeping in the apartment of a female companion in a county east of Atlanta.
Jamichael Jones, 33, turned himself in to authorities on the morning of June 7. According to a warrant obtained by WXIA-TV, Jones is the ex-boyfriend of the woman whose house Trouble was in, and he had physically abused her previously, which led to them splitting about a week before the shooting.
Reporter Tori Cooper said that police set up outside of Jones’ mother’s house, and when he called her, she had him speak to law enforcement. “The officers and his mom convinced him to turn himself in peacefully,” Cooper said.
The Rockdale County sheriff said he did not think Jones “expressed any remorse right now,” but posited that he turned himself in because he was afraid. The charges Jones will face include felony murder, home invasion, and battery.
Though Trouble did not have the same chart success as peers like Young Thug and Future, he was a pillar of both the Atlanta rap scene and the community at large. Artists who mourned his death on social media included Georgia superstars like 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane, and T.I., while LeBron James also acknowledged his passing. Trouble first earned nationwide attention for his snarling single “Bussin’” and became a sought after feature, working with Thug, Killer Mike, and Lupe Fiasco, among others.
Trouble grew up in east Atlanta’s Edgewood neighborhood, which he immortalized on his acclaimed 2018 debut album titled after the area. That LP, produced entirely by Mike Will Made-It and featuring guest appearances from Drake, The Weeknd, and Quavo, established Trouble as a singular voice in the city’s booming rap scene, capable of dispensing gruff, hard-won wisdoms on songs like “Krew,” while also being unafraid to show his wounded side on confessional tracks like “Hurt Real Bad.” His last release was 2020’s Thug Luv, which saw Trouble playing with auto-tune melodies and showing new levels of vulnerability.
Throughout his career, Trouble earned praise for his role as an influential member of the Atlanta community. In a 2018 interview with The FADER, he spoke about the need to help people who came from the same circumstances that he did.
“At the end of the day, a lot of folks, all they need is just a little help advancing. I know you can’t help the whole world in one moment, but you can take steps to try to,” he said. “I always take myself back to them moments when a n-gga wasn’t fucking with me ‘bout nothing. If a n-gga gave me a chance, give me a little help, he can turn my whole mindstate and change my whole actions.”
The rapper’s tragic death comes during a time of significant upheaval in the Atlanta music scene following the arrest of Young Thug and members of his YSL collective, the murder of Metro Boomin’s mother, and the untimely passing of Lil Keed.