Pop Smoke was killed by 15-year-old who admitted shooting to detention center cellmate

Rapper Pop Smoke was killed by 15-year-old who admitted shooting to detention center cellmate, detective testifies

Nancy Dillon, New York Daily News
Sat, May 8, 2021, 12:02 AM·4 min read




Pop Smoke was gunned down by a 15-year-old shooter who ambushed the Brooklyn rapper with a group of teens bent on stealing the singer’s diamond-studded Rolex, a detective testified Friday.

The home intruders also were after the rapper’s Cuban link chain but apparently only managed to swipe the luxury timepiece, which they later resold for $2,000, the detective said.

The teen who pulled the trigger, the youngest of the four defendants now facing murder and robbery charges in the case, allegedly admitted his role in the Hollywood Hills slaying during a recorded interview with a cellmate at a juvenile detention center last May.

“He admitted that he shot the victim three times with a Baretta 9 (mm),” Los Angeles Police Department Detective Carlos Camacho testified Friday at a preliminary hearing for a different suspect, Corey Walker, 20, the sole adult defendant in the high-profile case.

The 15-year-old defendant “admitted that they asked for the jewelry” and then had “a confrontation” with Pop Smoke that quickly turned deadly, the detective said.

“They got into a fight, and he shot him three times,” Camacho said, citing the 15-year-old defendant’s recorded juvenile detention center interview. “He said he shot him on the back.”

Walker, 20, has pleaded not guilty in the case. His defense lawyer Christopher Darden told the New York Daily News on Friday that Walker never even entered the house for the deadly confrontation, though prosecutors have placed him at the scene with cellphone records and say his Infinity was the getaway vehicle.

According to Camacho, Walker also confessed to his role in the murder during a separate, secretly recorded jailhouse interview with a different adult informant placed in his cell after his July arrest.

Walker allegedly admitted the group used ski masks, gloves and a police scanner as they carried out the home-invasion robbery.

“He said that when the individuals got inside, the suspects confronted (Pop Smoke), who was in the shower naked,” Camacho testified.

During his recorded conversation with the cellmate, Walker allegedly said the teens inside the home demanded Pop Smoke’s jewelry, which he was still wearing, and even said “Thank you” when it appeared he was complying, Camacho said.

But the rapper apparently decided to fight back and “rushed” the intruders, who “pistol whipped” him before the 15-year-old suspect shot him in the chest, Camacho said, citing Walker’s account of what happened.

Darden objected to the testimony about Walker’s interview, calling it hearsay since Walker wasn’t inside the house. The judge allowed it.

Pop Smoke, born Bashar Barakah Jackson, was fatally shot during the 4 a.m. home invasion at the rented home in the Hollywood Hills on Feb. 19, 2020.

Public testimony in the case started Thursday with two LAPD detectives taking the witness stand to give the first public and detailed account of what allegedly happened.

Detective Christian Carrasco testified Thursday that a woman who was with Pop Smoke in the rented home’s second-story bedroom recalled seeing a group of men storm through curtains from a balcony accessible by a backyard staircase.

One of the men allegedly pressed a black semiautomatic firearm to her forehead and shouted, “Shut the f--- up. Do you want to die?”

“She heard a struggle coming from the shower area and heard Mr. Jackson screaming. Mr. Jackson ran out of the bathroom and then she heard a loud pop and (heard) Mr. Jackson fall to the ground,” the detective said.

“Two other individuals began to kick him,” Carrasco said, citing the woman’s testimony.

Upon hearing her son was kicked, Jackson’s mother Audrey Jackson was visibly upset.

Similarly Friday, Jackson’s dad Greg Jackson let out an audible gasp when he heard the killing was over a $2,000 payday.

Pop Smoke was a fast-rising rap star known for his gravelly voice and inventive take on drill music when he died at age 20, just weeks away from finishing his debut studio album.

Doctors rushed him into a major surgery called a “left thoracotomy,” but he suffered a “rapid” decline and couldn’t be saved, his death certificate said.

Pop Smoke had posted images on social media shortly before the shooting showing both the rented Airbnb home’s address and a large amount of cash. The cash was later found still inside a drawer at the rental home, according to testimony Friday.

When the rapper’s “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon” was released in July, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with fellow rap stars Roddy Ricch, DaBaby, Lil Baby, Future, Quavo and Swae Lee listed as guest performers.

It was a massive hit, spawning multiple international top-10 singles including the R&B inspired track “What You Know Bout Love,” which also became a Top 10 song of the year on TikTok.

If convicted as charged, Walker would be eligible for the death penalty, the Los Angeles County district attorney said.

 

Figures a west coast nikka would walk in on a naked man to rob him.

 

Not no pocket watchin shyt but it’s crazy how that Rollie was bussdown and prolly ran him at least 20k+

dumbasses who stole it went deep wit 4 nikkas only to get 2 bands for it

These lil nikkas remedial fr sad to see a life taken over such materialistic things

 

Why fight over a Rolex that could have easily been replaced? Assuming this account is truthful, it’s clear they didn’t intend to kill anyone. Be on the verge of superstardom, have the hottest song in the streets, and get clapped because you didn’t want to run your jewels, brehs.

And weren’t his people there? What were they doing? They didn’t hear the scuffle? None of these street dudes were strapped?

 

He had on a rolex in the shower?

 

It was clear that they did intend to kill anyone who was willing to prevent them from getting the jewellery. Sure he would have been alive, but pop was a street cat, and he was not willing to get punked. The man had every right to defend his possessions and thieves and robbers are scum.

 

Give him the death penalty.

I am a Pop Smoke fan.

 

Crazy

 

I’m pretty sure he was more worried about losing his image/respect. A street gang banging rapper getting robbed for your jewelry is a career ender. He probably thought they weren’t gonna kill him because of his fame and how high profile the murder would be

 

You can’t get a good value on items that are evidence in murders lol. To be fair they were going for way more then the watch that was just all they were able to get away with

 

Plenty of street dudes turned rappers have been robbed and saw their career survive the ignominy. Cam’ron, Prodigy, Jim Jones, Tony Yayo, and others. That seems like a real stupid reason to risk getting your life taken.

 

It seems even more stupid to rob and kill a rapper on pops smoke level, and think you can get away with it.

 

nikkas wanna blame the victim as usual.

 

a black life only worth 2 bands to these nikkas or what $500 a pop since it was 4 of em. Smh