Christian Rapper Convicted of Running Down Friend

CLARKSBURG, MD — A Christian rapper from Germantown who reportedly confessed that he intentionally ran down a collaborator after an argument about CDs has been convicted of second-degree murder.

Ryan Anthony Salandy, 23, of Germantown, was initially charged with first-degree murder in the September 2015 death of William Dean McDaniel, 21, of the 23000 block of Sweetspire Drive in Clarksburg.

Montgomery County Police were called to the 23000 block of Sweetspire Drive in Clarksburg for the report of a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle. Officers found located McDaniel dead in the roadway. Salandy had fled from the scene.

About 30 minutes later, police received a tip that the driver and the vehicle involved in the pedestrian collision were at a residence on Amber Ridge Circle in the Milestone area of Germantown. Officers went to that address and located the vehicle and its driver, identified as Salandy.

He was convicted Tuesday and faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced, reports WTOP.

Authorities say Salandy and McDaniel argued about a contract; Salandy had produced some of McDaniel’s music. While Salandy initially drove away from the argument, he circled back to Sweetspire Drive, where he struck McDaniel with his 2006 Saab and then left the scene.

»Photo of Ryan Salandy courtesy of Montgomery County Police