The man who authorities say killed the rapper Proof in lawful defense of another man was sentenced yesterday (Oct. 26) to time served and a $2,000 fine for weapons violations.
A jury last month convicted Mario Etheridge of carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm inside a building. The charges stem from the April fight at an after-hours Detroit club in which Proof and another man, Keith Bender, were killed.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Vera Massey Jones sentenced Etheridge to time served for the concealed weapon charge and levied a $2,000 fine for firing the gun in a building. Etheridge, 28, spent several days in jail in April after he turned himself in to police and before he posted bond.
Authorities say Etheridge shot and killed Proof, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, after Proof fatally shot Etheridge’s cousin, Bender. Etheridge’s lawyer has said that Proof was set off by a dispute over a game of pool.
Prosecutors determined Etheridge acted lawfully in defense of Bender when he fired at Proof. But they said Etheridge shot twice at the ceiling in an effort to stop Proof before aiming the gun at him. Those shots were the basis for the charge of illegally firing a weapon.
Proof, 32, was a member of the rap group D12 and was a close friend of Eminem, who spoke at his funeral.
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