Christian rapper gets 18 years for running down, killing music producer; 911 call released

ROCKVILLE, Md. (WJLA) – An aspiring Christian rap artist, who was convicted in September of killing his music producer by running him down with his Saab, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison with 12 years suspended.

Last year, Ryan Salandy, then 26, hired William McDaniel, then 25, to burn 150 CDs containing his gospel rap tunes. Salandy paid McDaniel $300. However, a dispute over the work arose.

Click the video above to listen to the 911 call.

Cellphone records show that on Sept. 24, 2015, Salandy sent McDaniel at least three text messages that clearly conveyed a mounting level of animosity.

1:21 p.m. – “When can I get my CDs?”

4:51 p.m. – “I’m going to f*** you up when I see you.”

8:23 p.m. – “We’re gonna see each other some day b**** boy. U better get me my s*** before it’s too late.”

Salandy then went on Facebook, posting: “When you see me, run.”

In the early afternoon of Sept. 25, 2015, Salandy drove to McDaniel’s Clarksburg neighborhood. They had an explosive verbal argument. Police say Salandy then got into his silver Saab sedan, rounded the block, hit the gas and plowed right into McDaniel.

Investigators determined that Salandy was traveling between 37 and 49 miles per hour at the moment of impact, never braking, swerving, calling 911 or stopping to check on McDaniel’s injuries. The intensity of the collision broke every bone in both of McDaniel’s legs. His boots flung off his body. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound music producer rolled over the hood of the car and then catapulted through the air, ultimately falling onto the pavement, dead.

Detectives arrested Salandy a few hours later at his mother’s Germantown home. They say he was calm, never asked why he was being taken into custody, and did not inquire about McDaniel’s condition until about six hours later.