Suspect arrested in killing of Oakland rapper outside nightclub, was on federal probation for gun conviction at the time of shooting

OAKLAND — A Bay Area man has been arrested and charged with fatally shooting a local resident outside of a nightclub, a crime he allegedly committed while on federal probation for a case that stemmed from a triple shooting, court records show.

Robert Hamilton, 29, of San Francisco, was charged Thursday with murdering 34-year-old Marquis Baxter on Oct. 29, and with being a felon in possession of a firearm. His first court appearance has been set for Friday morning, and he’s being held without bail.

During the 2010s, Baxter recorded numerous rap songs and music videos under the stage name Hillside Quis, and frequently wore a necklace with the initials “HQ.” That necklace, covered in blood, was found next to his body, which police took as a possible indication that Baxter was shot during an attempted robbery, authorities said.

Baxter was shot a little after 3 a.m. on Oct. 29, on the 400 block of 19th Street in downtown Oakland, shortly after leaving a nearby nightclub, police said.

After the homicide, police say they received a tip that Baxter had been killed by another rapper who went by “Simba.” Investigators later identified that person as Hamilton, and confirmed his identity from surveillance footage from the night of the shooting, according to authorities.

At the time of the shooting, Hamilton was on federal probation for a conviction of possessing a 9 mm pistol. That conviction stemmed from a February 2021 triple shooting in San Francisco, where all three victims survived. Police attempted to detain Hamilton roughly two weeks later in the same area as the shooting, and detained him after a foot pursuit, according to court records.

Hamilton was charged in federal court with one count of gun possession as a felon, and one count of carrying a gun in furtherance of a drug crime, since SFPD also reportedly found several ounces of marijuana in his possession. Jurors convicted him of the former charge and acquitted him of the latter count, and he was sentenced to 27 months behind bars, records show.

Court papers in his federal case say he survived a near-death experience at age 11, when he was shot in the neck by a stray bullet while playing basket ball with friends. He was partially paralyzed from the incident and had to teach himself to walk, but the bullet remained lodge in his neck, causing “years of chronic pain, neuromuscular dysfunction, and myriad mental health issues, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” the lawyer added.