Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
Over the weekend it was revealed that last year’s February murder of Pop Smoke was carried out by a 15-year-old kid over a Rolex watch and as shocking as that fact is, more information (or lack thereof) is coming out about that now fateful day in Hip-Hop history.
According to Vulture, police had trouble finding cooperation during their investigation of the murder and while the internet ran with their own theories and assumptions, the truth was still yet to be realized. Then finally on July 9, LAPD announced that they had arrested five people in connection to the rapper’s murder and charged four of them for the crime: Corey Walker, 19, Keandre Rodgers, 18, and two minors whose names were withheld due to their age.
Now that we’ve learned that it was one of the minors who pulled the trigger that ended the young life of the 20-year-old rapper, the question is, why? Though the crew of five are alleged gang members, police say it wasn’t gang-0related but a robbery gone wrong. LAPD detective Carlos Camacho says that the young crew drove out to Pop Smoke’s rental to rob him of his Rolex watch and iced out Cuban-link chain, but were met with resistance once they found him.
“The accused shooter, who faces murder and robbery charges, allegedly “admitted that they asked for the jewelry” and then got into “a confrontation” with Pop Smoke, Camacho said. “They got into a fight, and he shot [Jackson] three times, Camacho claimed. “[The accused] said he shot him on the back.” These revelations came in a “recoded” jailhouse interview between the teen and his cellmate in May 2020, The New York Daily News said.”
After all of that the teens ran off with Pop’s Rolex watch which they sold for $2,000.
19-year-old Corey Walker also revealed his role in the murder (which he pled not guilty to) to an informant that was placed in his jail cell. Saying they used ski masks and a police scanner to carry out the scheme, Walker’s recalled how found Pop Smoke in the shower with his jewelry next to him in the bathroom.
“The teen robbers remarked “Thank you” when it seemed like Pop Smoke would comply, Walker allegedly said in his chat with the informant. However, Pop Smoke ultimately fought back against the robbers, at which point the intruders “pistol-whipped” him. the shooter proceeded to open fire, hitting Pop Smoke in the chest, according to Camacho’s account of Walker’s alleged confession.”
Police got more help painting the scene from a young woman who was with Pop the night of his murder and she explained how the crew “stormed through the curtains of a second-story balcony.” One of them put a gun to her head while the others ran up on Pop while he was in the shower.
After he was shot and on the floor, two of the attackers began kicking Pop Smoke before letting off two more shots.
Though Walker’s defense lawyer, Christopher Darden, insists that his client wasn’t at the scene of the crime and remained in the car where he “urged the younger suspects not to open fire.”
Still, Walker is expected to go to trial for his role in the murder and is due back in court on June 3rd for “re-arraignment.” If convicted for the crime, Corey Walker faces the death penalty.
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