Eminem, Lawyer Defend Proof

04/14/2006 1:48 PM, E! Online
Josh Grossberg

Days after his slaying in a nightclub shootout police claim he instigated, Proof is being defended by both his lawyer and longtime pal Eminem.

Speaking for the first time since Proof's killing early Tuesday, Eminem released a statement on his Website Friday calling the fallen rapper the driving force behind Detroit hip-hop.

"You don't know where to begin when you lose somebody who's been such a big part of your life for so long. Proof and I were brothers," Eminem, who rapped alongside Proof in the group D12, said in the statement. "He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady.

"Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died. I want to remember the way he lived. Proof was funny, he was smart, he was charming. He inspired everyone around him. He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always, will be, my best friend."

Now about the way he died. The 32-year-old Proof (whose real name was Deshaun Holton) was shot in the head about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday at C.C.C., a bar on Eight Mile Road, the strip along Detroit's northern edge immortalized in Eminem's semi-autobiographical movie of the same name. Investigators say Proof got into a heated argument--some unconfirmed reports say it was over a pool game--and pistol-whipped 35-year-old Keith Bender Jr.

Then, according to police and some witnesses, Proof drew first and shot Bender in the head. At that point, Bender's cousin, 28-year-old Mario Etheridge, reportedly a bouncer at the bar, gunned down Proof, shooting him three times in the head and chest.

Proof was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. Bender remains in critical condition at a separate facility.

Etheridge, meanwhile, has surrendered and remains in custody. A Detroit police spokeswoman told E! Online Friday that the department is close to sending the case to prosecutors, who will determine whether Etheridge will be charged.

However, she noted, if detectives determine that the individual shot Proof in self-defense or to protect another person from bodily harm--as his lawyer, Randall Upshaw, contends--then it's unlikely he'd face charges.

"It's up to the prosecutor," the she said.

Proof's lawyer, meanwhile, has rejected the contention that rapper shot first.

"To indicate that Proof pulled the trigger is reckless and quite frankly it will be proved to be untrue," he told the Detroit Free Press Thursday.

"It's disingenuous to speak to the media to try and suggest that Proof shot first. There are ways to determine what shots were fired and by whom," he continued. "There's an ongoing investigation. Until all of the factual evidence has been evaluated, an opinion by the Detroit Police Department is premature."

Funeral arrangements for Proof have not been announced, but a memorial service is reportedly in the works.