Man convicted of killing Rockford rapper ‘EBE Bandz’ captured after years on the run

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – A man already sentenced to life in prison for killing a Rockford rapper is now behind bars.

William Arzate, 28, was booked into the Winnebago County jail Monday afternoon, according to jail records. Authorities report he was captured in Mexico.

William Arzate, 28, of Rockford(WIFR)

In July 2021, Arzate was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2019 death of William Pickering. Arzate never showed up for his trial and it went on without him. In October 2021, he was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional five years.

On June 1, 2019, the Rockford Police Department took a missing persons report for 23-year-old William Pickering, a local rapper also known as ‘EBE Bandz’ and ‘Billy Da Kid’.

Nearly a month later, detectives found Pickering’s body in unincorporated Winnebago County.

Investigators say Arzate, Colton Kennicker and Dakota Graff beat Pickering in a home with baseball bats, drove his body to a field and set it on fire. Another man, Manuel Ramirez, was also charged with concealing a homicide.

In 2021, Ramirez was sentenced to 180 days in jail and Graff was sentenced to spend 35 years in prison. Kennicker was sentenced in May 2023 to 32 years in prison.