A 15-year-old has allegedly admitted to being the trigger man behind the murder of Brooklyn drill artist Pop Smoke.
Pop Smoke was shot and killed in a suspected home invasion in Hollywood Hills, California on February 19th, 2020. He was 20 years old. The invasion was allegedly planned by a group of teenagers from the same street gang, who tracked down Pop Smoke’s location via an Instagram post.
Earlier on the night of his death, the rapper had shared photos on social media of a large amount of money, designer goods and a luxury car. In one of the stories, a gift bag showing the full address of the Hollywood Hills Airbnb he was staying at was visible.
The defendants reportedly broke into the building via a second-story balcony accessible by a staircase in the backyard. Upon entering the house, the suspects found a woman who was staying with Pop Smoke, while the rapper was in the shower. One of the men reportedly threatened the woman’s life and a struggle broke out in the bathroom. Initially, Pop Smoke handed over his jewellery, before attempting to fight back. He was then pistol-whipped and shot.
As The Daily News report, A fifteen-year-old boy has admitted that he was the one who pulled the trigger on Pop Smoke. The revelation came during a preliminary hearing for Corey Walker, a 20-year-old defendant in the case.
Corey Walker, the only adult implicated in the case, admitted to his role in the crime whilst secretly being recorded by a detention centre informant. In a court motion attempting to dismiss the murder charges against Walker, defense attorney Christopher Darden argued his client had only admitted to being a driver, and that, “At most, he’s a principal in a robbery” and “not an aider and abettor of premeditated murder.”
Judge H. Clay Jacke II disagreed, denying the request and ruled that there was “sufficient cause” to send Walker to trial. If convicted, Walker would be eligible for the death penalty
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According to LAPD detective Carlos Camacho, the shooter, the youngest of the four implicated in the case, admitted to a cellmate at a juvenile detention centre that he was the one that shot Pop Smoke.
According to Camacho’s testimony, the 15-year-old “admitted that they asked for the jewellery” when “a confrontation” with Pop Smoke broke out. “He admitted that he shot the victim three times with a Baretta 9 (mm.)
“They got into a fight, and he shot him three times.”
The robbery was over two pieces of jewellery, a Cuban link chain and a diamond-studded Rolex. The suspects left with only the Rolex, which they reportedly sold for just $2,000.
After the hearing on Friday, Pop Smoke’s mom Audrey Jackson spoke with the Daily News. “I didn’t know any of this. It’s all new. I just knew my boy was gone,” she said.
“Now it really feels like he’s not coming back. I don’t know what I thought being here would do. I thought something would happen that would help me feel differently. But to hear they kicked him when he was down. It’s so disrespectful and dishonorable. There was no honor in this. And the irony in this is that those same kids are the kids he said he made music for. There needs to be consequences, sufficient consequences.”
