One of Pop Smoke’s alleged killers, Corey Walker, says that he told the gunman to hit the late rapper with a vase, not shoot him with a gun. Walker’s lawyer, Christopher Darden, explained his client’s defense in a motion to dismiss his murder and robbery charges, Friday. Smoke was shot and killed during a botched home invasion in February 2020.
Darden argued in the courtroom that Walker “specifically voiced his opposition to any violence before Pop Smoke was fatally shot.”
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The lawyer also explained that his client never entered Smoke’s residence: “It is clear from the evidence that [Walker] did not enter the house, was not armed, and did not personally kill the victim. Moreover, the evidence is clear that the defendant did not share the actual killer’s intent to kill.”
Darden also admitted that Walker “assaulted” the 15-year-old gunman after learning that he murdered Smoke.
Walker faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Smoke was 20 years old at the time of his death, and one of the most popular rising rappers in the Brooklyn drill scene. His debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, was released after his death and reached number one on the Billboard 200.
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