The Sole Adult Defendant In Pop Smoke’s Murder Gets Trial Date
Corey Walker is set to begin trial on June 25 in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone reports. Walker is the only defendant who was charged as an adult in the 2020 murder of Pop Smoke.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and three counts related to the alleged home-invasion robbery at the Hollywood Hills home rented out by Pop Smoke before he was shot and killed.
Prosecutors claim Walker “facilitated the crimes by not only surveilling the crime scene before the crimes were committed but serving as the researcher, getaway driver, weapons provider and planner of this home invasion robbery.” Walker was reportedly in communication with the three juveniles who entered the home and attacked the Brooklyn-bred rap phenom.
Walker’s former lawyer Christopher Darden claimed his ex-client “did not plan this crime” and simply served as the driver who “remained outside seated in the driver’s seat.”
Prosecutors accused all four individuals, including Walker, of plotting a home invasion as a means to steal money, jewelry, and a diamond watch that Pop Smoke flaunted on social media the day prior. The address of his rental home was seen on a gift bag he posted.
Walker was allegedly unaware of the shooting until the three juveniles returned to the getaway vehicle. He claimed to have responded by assaulting the shooter. The now-18-year-old shooter, who was 15 at the time of the murder, confessed last year and is expected to remain in a juvenile facility until the age of 25.
An alleged witness, Ameliia Rose, reflected on the “worst night of [her] life” on the four-year anniversary of Pop Smoke’s death last month. “We didn’t know each other at all, but it was you who changed my life..I never thought that I would become a witness to a murder and someone’s death..February 19, 2020 the worst night of my life,” she wrote in a tribute on Instagram.
When speaking with Van Lathan for Hip Hop Homicides, Rose revealed Pop Smoke’s last words. Watch below.
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