Alleged Dolla Shooter Arraigned

Fri., May. 22, 2009 10:48 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The man accused of gunning down Dolla says he's innocent.

Aubrey Louis Berry, the 23-year-old music promoter arrested after the up-and-coming rapper was fatally shot at a Los Angeles, pleaded not guilty this morning in Los Angeles Criminal Court, a district attorney spokeswoman tells E! News.

Berry has been held on $5 million bond since he was taken into custody Monday as he tried to board a flight at LAX. He has been charged with murder and two counts of assault with a firearm for allegedly shooting at two of Dolla's associates.

Following a brief hearing yesterday, Berry attorney Howard R. Price told reporters that his client was innocent and had acted in self-defense, believing Dolla was about to hurt him.

"The allegations are not going to be proven. This is not a murder case. At worst, this is a manslaughter case," Price said.

Investigators say the 21-year-old rapper, in L.A. to lay down tracks for his debut album, was unarmed at the time of the slaying.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, bad blood may have been the motive behind the shooting. Dolla (real name Roderick
Burton) and Berry had gotten into a shouting match at an Atlanta strip club. "It was a stupid, silly incident that should've never escalated to this point," Berry told the newspaper.

A preliminary hearing and bail review is scheduled for Tuesday.