Rapper pleads guilty to strip club killing

An aspiring Cleveland rapper pleaded guilty Monday in the March 2016 fatal shooting of a man at a downtown strip club.

Ernest Thornton, who performed under the stage name “Drama,” admitted in court Monday to killing James Hennings at the Alibi Inn club on Rockwell Avenue.

Thornton, who was initially identified as the shooter based on a Cleveland Cavaliers tattoo on his forehead, pleaded guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge.

He will be sentenced March 29.

Thornton was set to begin trial Monday on aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and other charges.

Hennings was shot in the leg about 2 a.m. March 16, 2016, after an argument broke out in the club, police said. Surveillance cameras captured the shooting and the gunman running from the club immediately afterward.

Thornton was released from prison in 2012 after serving four years for an aggravated robbery that grew from an investigation into the LA Gunnaz street gang. Court records indicate that investigators believe members of the LA Gunnaz now refer to themselves as Loyal Always.