Kiwi Clinton Thinn has been arrested in Los Angeles and charged with murder. The aspiring rapper moved to the United States to further his rap career according to a friend.
A Cabinet Minister related to a former Auckland Grammar student charged with first-degree murder in the United States is describing the situation as "sad and difficult".
New Zealander Clinton Thinn, 29, is being held at the George Bailey Detention Facility in San Diego, California, says the San Diego Sheriff's Departmentwebsite.
He is charged with attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a loaded firearm and first-degree murder.
If convicted, Thinn faces a minimum of 25 years in prison or the death penalty.
Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye, who returned to Parliament last month after a cancer scare, today said family members were distressed by the bleak developments.
The murder charge was laid after an incident at the maximum security facility housing nearly 1800 prisoners.
A friend said Thinn had been picked on because of his accent and had pledged allegiance to the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang in the US.
If convicted, Thinn faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, or the death penalty.
The Aucklander was arrested in San Diego, last June after a man entered a Chula Vista bank brandishing a hammer and a flare gun.
The man reportedly fired two shots with the flare gun and used the hammer to try to smash a bullet-proof partition.
News reports at the time said no one was injured.
If convicted, Thinn faces a minimum of 25 years in prison or the death penalty.
Photo / via Instagram
A friend of Thinn's told the Herald they had met at Auckland's Selwyn College, after Thinn left Auckland Grammar School.
He considered himself a close friend and would be trying to contact Thinn in prison to offer support.
The old schoolmate, who asked not to be named, said Thinn had gone through some personal issues over the years and had been failed by those around them.
"When I am studying, I like to hear water in the background. It's calming.''
Thinn, a lover of hip-hop and rap, often posted videos of himself rapping to lyrics he had written under the rap artist name: BigMac and Richochet Rocket.
Thinn's old friend said he felt guilty about his mate's current situation.
"These videos that he's doing ... he was led on by a lot of his friends that he was a good rapper.
"When really, people were just leading him on, it was just funny for us to watch.
