Pop Smoke was gunned down by a 15-year-old shooter who ambushed the Brooklyn rapper in Los Angeles in February 2020 with a group of teens bent on stealing his diamond-studded Rolex, a detective testified Friday.
According to the New York Daily News, the home intruders who stormed the Canarsie-bred rapper’s Airbnb rental in the Hollywood Hills also were after his Cuban link chain but only managed to swipe the luxury timepiece, which they later resold for just $2,000, the investigator said.
LAPD Det. Carlos Camacho testified during a preliminary hearing for suspect, Corey Walker, 20, that the unnamed 15-year-old defendant admitted to pulling the trigger during a recorded interview with a cellmate last May at a juvenile detention center.
“[The teen] admitted that he shot the victim three times with a Baretta 9 [mm.],” Camacho told the court.
“They got into a fight, and he shot him three times,” Camacho said the interview reveals.
“He said he shot him on the back. He said that when the individuals got inside, the suspects confronted [Pop Smoke], who was in the shower naked.”
Camacho also testified that Walker admitted his role in the slaying as well to an informant who was placed in his cell following his July 2020 arrest.
Walker was recorded telling the informant they wore ski masks and commanded the rapper to take off his jewelry. Pop reportedly initially started to comply, to which the intruders told him “Thank you.” However, according to Walker, the rapper then fought back. He rushed robbers but was pistol-whipped before being shot by the 15-year-old.
They were only able to make off with one of Pop’s expensive watches, which they later sold for $2,000, investigators say.
During the hearing, Walker’s defense attorney, Christopher Darden, argued for murder charges against his client to be dropped, saying Walker only drove the car to the home and was not directly involved with the robbery or killing. Judge H. Clay Jacke II denied Darden’s request and Walker pleaded not guilty. Walker is due back in court for rearrangement on June 3.
The alleged shooter, the youngest of the four defendants, is now facing murder and robbery charges in the case.
On Thursday, Det. Christian Carrasco testified that a woman who was with Pop Smoke in the home recalled seeing a group of men enter through a second-story balcony accessible by a backyard staircase.
The woman claims the intruders breached the home through a second-floor balcony, put a gun to her head, and told her “Shut the fuck up. Do you want to die?”
“She heard a struggle coming from the shower area and heard Mr. Jackson screaming,” Detective Carrasco said.
“Mr. Jackson ran out of the bathroom and then she heard a loud pop and [heard] Mr. Jackson fall to the ground.” Carrasco also testified the woman said two of the intruders kicked Pop after he was shot.
Walker is due back in court for rearrangement on June 3. If convicted as charged, he could face death penalty.
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