JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax has uncovered new links between the murdered son of a former Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officer and a controversial group.
Desi Varner was shot and killed last week on the Northside. Since then, we've found images online connecting him to Cutt Circle, a local rap group that is seen in videos brandishing guns.
Cutt Circle is a local rap group with a large local following. Members show off automatic guns in their music videos. Last Thursday, group member Varner was shot and killed.
The group is part of local filmmaker Opio Sokini's documentary called "Street Stars."
"This activist film is going to be used around the country to decrease crime," Sokini said.
Sokoni said his project is not about glorifying the rap lifestyle. Rather, he says Cutt Circle and others are telling people to not make the same choices they did.
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The question some have: Is Cutt Circle a gang?
"It's not a gang, it's a group of people who have been together a long time," Sokoni said.
Circle Cutt Records sent Action News Jax a statement about the gang allegations:
"First and foremost, I would like to take the opportunity to state that Cutt Circle Records is not a gang. Cutt Circle Records is strictly a group of guys who has known each other for a long period of time, and developed a rap group. <br/><br/>"The group has been rapping together for many years and has created a huge fan-based following. The media has portrayed the group for the worst, although there is many great deeds that come alongside with it. <br/><br/>"Cutt Circle Records has provided back-to-school giveaways for the kids, cookouts for the less fortunate, and many activities to keep the kids out the streets and into the school house. <br/><br/>Cutt Circle Records is also in the process of putting a program together to provide kids help with homework and life decisions to keep them out of prison. so is Cutt Circle a gang? No, strictly a group of guys with a rap dream."
Local gang prevention specialist Greg Lesser said Cutt Circle isn't a gang.
Action News Jax: "Are local rap groups tied to local crime?"
Lesser: "The shootings, no. Well, maybe."
But last April, Assistant State Attorney Rich Mantei told us Cutt Circle is a gang.
"Doing criminal activity, sometimes violent, that's a gang, no matter what lipstick you put on the pig," Mantei said.
"The state attorney's office is going to say that to charge these kids as grown-ups," Lesser said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office does not have this group on its list of known gangs at this time.
We have reached out to Cutt Circle and Varner's family for comment. Neither has returned our calls or emails.
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