VALLEJO — Police here say they’re investigating a San Francisco rapper after a video surfaced online showing him and a friend driving into a neighborhood and exiting the car with guns drawn, despite the fact that several children were in the area.
Marvin ‘Messy Marv’ Watson Jr., 42, can be seen in the video driving through Vallejo and parking his car near Leonard Street and Taper Avenue, in a neighborhood commonly known as The Crest. Watson was apparently there to settle a conflict between himself and Vallejo rapper Jamal “J-Diggs” Diggs, who was out of town.
In the video, Watson and the cameraman exit the car armed, and Watson loudly asks where J-Diggs is. A young girl can be seen riding a bicycle a few feet away. Across the street, a man yells to Watson that his kids are outside, which leads to a back and forth between the two.
“Tell J-Diggs I came through here!” Watson yells. Moments later, he and the cameraman get back in the car and drive off without firing shots. At one point in the video, he identifies himself as “Messy Marv.”
The video has since gotten hundreds of thousands of views, including from local detectives. Vallejo police Lt. Joseph Iacono confirmed the video is under investigation.
“The Vallejo Police Department is aware of the incident and on-going issues between the two individuals,” he said, referring to Watson and Diggs. He added that several police departments are involved in the investigation.
In the video, several potential chargeable offenses are depicted: It is illegal to brandish guns in public. Possessing a gun or ammunition as a convicted felon — Watson was convicted of felony cocaine possession in Texas in 2015 — is forbidden. Pointing a loaded gun at someone can also be prosecuted as an assault with a deadly weapon. And brandishing guns around children can be prosecuted under the state’s child endangerment penal code.
The incident was apparently a culmination of a conflict between Watson and Diggs, which involved threats and accusations from both sides. Diggs recently accused Watson of lying about him in a 2017 interview and said Watson would have to apologize and “catch a fade,” or fight him, before the two could resolve their differences. Watson responded with a profanity-laced video indicating he was up for the challenge.