More details have been shared about what Pop Smoke endured in his final moments on earth. It was just ahead of the COVID-19 quarantine when Pop Smoke was in Los Angeles staying at a Hollywood Hills Airbnb owned by a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star. It had previously been shared that a group of home invasion thieves stormed the property and shot the rapper in cold blood, but the New York Daily News reports it was far worse.
According to the outlet, Pop Smoke, real name Bashar Jackson, was in the shower when he was confronted by masked gunmen around 4:00 a.m.
It is stated that the suspects made entry to the home through “the curtains of a second-story balcony,” said a Los Angeles Police Department detective. A woman was reportedly at the scene with Pop Smoke in the bedroom when one of the men placed a gun to her head. Detective Christian Carrasco took the stand in a preliminary hearing for one of the suspects, 20-year-old Corey Walker, on Thursday (May 6).
Det. Carrasco stated that the man told the woman, “Shut the f*ck up. Do you want to die?” He added, “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.” It was then that “two other individuals began to kick him.”
“Mr. Jackson gets up and run downstairs. She hears two more pops,” said Carrasco. “She follows Mr. Jackson, sees him on the ground and screams for Michael (Durodola) to call 911.” Durodola is an actor from Brooklyn. The unidentified woman told authorities that she believed the killers grabbed a “large gold watch” and more jewelry before taking off.
Pop Smoke was rushed to the hospital where it’s reported that doctors performed a “left thoracotomy” but sadly, the rapper endured a “rapid” decline. It was a license plate on the killers’ vehicle that was captured by surveillance footage that steered detectives in the direction of Walker.
Not long before the shooting occurred, investigators say Pop Smoke shared images of the luxury residence, and the photos showed the home’s address and that the rapper had a large amount of cash with him. Walker’s attorney is no stranger to high-profile cases as Christopher Darden will be defending the suspect. If Darden’s name sounds familiar it’s because he was on the prosecution team during the infamous O.J. Simpson trial back in the 1990s. He also took on Eric Holder’s case, the man suspected of murdering Nipsey Hussle, but he has since stepped down.
Walker has pleaded not guilty to murder and robbery. Darden told the Daily News that he is a fan of Pop Smoke but it is “our position that Mr. Walker didn’t kill anybody.” Walker is the only adult being charged in the case as it’s reported that three other male suspects, including a 15-year-old, alleged to be involved are all minors. They, too, have been charged with murder and robbery. Walker faces the death penalty if convicted.
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