Man gets 36 years for killing rapper

All the family of slain Colorado Springs resident Iliff Omar Burleson wanted to know Friday was why.

Why was 30-year-old Burleson shot to death Dec. 15, 2006, at a south Nevada Avenue motel?

Why was the up-andcoming rapper slain in the "prime of his life"?

They got few answers Friday, but they did get a measure of justice.

The man who admitted shooting Burleson, 31-yearold Toumani Thomas, was sentenced to prison for 36 years as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. He was also sentenced to 16 years for pleading guilty to an unrelated assault charge, to be served at the same time as the 36-year sentence.

When 4th Judicial District Judge J. Patrick Kelly asked Thomas if he wanted to make a statement, he declined.

That silence came after Burleson's father, Oscar Burleson, all but demanded an apology and explanation from Thomas.

"I'm not sure what prompted that man to take my son's life," Burleson told the court. "But he disrupted our family to the utmost degree. I expect to at least get an apology."

Iliff Burleson was shot in the chest during a dispute at the Chief Motel, 1624 S. Nevada Ave. Burleson was trying to break up a fight and get the men out of his motel room, according to Colorado Springs police.

That's when Thomas pulled a 9 mm handgun out of his waistband, pointed it at Burleson and fired, witnesses told police.

When a friend asked Thomas why he shot Burleson, he said it was an accident, according to the arrest affidavit.

Burleson was a rapper who performed under the name Dat Boy O, or DBO. His song "Don't Blow Me Up" had been getting air time on a Colorado Springs hip-hop radio station.

Burleson's aunt, Von Burleson, read a letter from the mother of his 7-year-old son.

"If you knew him, you were fortunate," the letter stated. "If you were loved by him, you were blessed. That boy ‘O' was something else. He was taken from us in his prime."

Burleson also had an infant son.

"I'm just as puzzled as you are," Kelly said. "I have no answers for you. I just hope this doesn't drive you to the brink of despair."

Also sentenced by Kelly on Friday was Mark Anthony Rivera, 30, who pleaded guilty to accessory in Burleson's death. He got 12 years for the accessory plea, and 16 years for pleading guilty to an unrelated felony assault charge, to be served at the same time.

"I was friends with Omar," Rivera said. "As far as him getting shot, I never wanted that to happen. . . . He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0110 or dennis.huspeni@gazette.com