Rapper Sky Balla Arrested for Violent Sexual Assault at Aria Casino Las Vegas

Posted on: July 8, 2021, 06:26h. 

Last updated on: July 8, 2021, 11:56h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Bay Area rapper “Sky Balla” was arrested last month in Las Vegas on suspicion of violent sexual assault at Aria, according to an arrest report released Wednesday by Las Vegas police. 

Sky Balla
“Sky Balla,” aka Sky Nathan Branklyn, is a Bay Area rapper who has been recording music since the 1990s. (Image: Facebook/Sky Balla)

The 41-year-old, real name Sky Nathan Branklyn, is currently being held at Clark County Detention Center on a $1 million bond. He has been charged with sexual assault resulting in substantial bodily harm, battery with intent to commit sexual assault, and coercion.

The victim told police she went to a bar at Aria to meet a new acquaintance she knew as only as “Sky.” She said she drank a few shots with the man and blacked out.

Victim Severely Injured

The victim woke up in a hotel room in severe pain to find Sky on top of her raping her, according to the arrest report. When she told the man to stop, he punched her in the face until she lost consciousness. When she next awoke, the victim said the man was attempting to force himself into her mouth.

Eventually, she was able to crawl to the bathroom, where she stayed with the lights off for the next two hours. She then called the man that she needed to go home and he called her an Uber.

There was so much blood in the room that it was later declared a biohazard.

Two days later, a friend of the victim persuaded her to go to the hospital because she was in so much pain. Doctors determined she was severely injured and needed immediate surgery. Police were notified by a sexual assault nurse examiner at UMC Trauma.

Investigators found Branklyn’s music videos on the internet and saw he matched a photo provided by the victim. Meanwhile, Aria security had his driver’s license on file.

Rapper Gone Bad

Branklyn has been recording music since the 1990s and was previously known as Sky Skers.

He was a close associate of hip hop pioneer and record producer Mac Dre, who was murdered by an unknown assailant in 2004. That crime remains unsolved.

He was featured on the Mac Dre track Rapper Gone Bad and has collaborated with several other key names in the Bay Area Hip Hop scene, including E-40, the Game, and the Jacka.

In Nevada, sexual assault resulting in substantial bodily harm is a Class A felony punishable by life in prison without parole, or life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after serving 15 years.

According to the arrest report, Branklyn is a registered sex offender in California, where he was incarcerated for rape between 2009 and 2013.