Corey Walker, one of four males who stand charged in 2020 murder of rap artist Pop Smoke, entered a plea of guilty to robbery of an inhabited dwelling and voluntary manslaughter. As part of a negotiated plea, Walker avoided a murder charge but could receive a state prison term of 29 years. Walker will face sentencing Feb. 21, 2025
On February 19, 2020, rising rap artist Pop Smoke, whose birth name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, died in a robbery at a Hollywood Hills residence. Walker, then 19, and a group of robbers burgled into the rap artist’s home after social media posts revealed its location, including a rented residence, and attacked him when in the shower. Two teens and 18-year-old Keandre Rodgers, who joined in the attack, burgled into the property and a violent encounter ensued, in which the rap artist was shot and pistol-whipped a number of times.
The assailants stole a diamond encrusted Rolex, and then proceeded to sell it for a mere $2,000. Pop Smoke, then 20 years of age, was taken to a hospital but died of injuries sustained during the attack.
Initially, Walker was arraigned for murder, for which a life sentence could have ensued. Under a plea bargain, murder, nevertheless, was reduced, and Walker entered a plea of two counts of robbery in a dwelling and one count of voluntary manslaughter. The two-year sentences for the robbery charges will run concurrently with the manslaughter sentence, bringing his total possible prison time to 29 years.
Other defendants in the case have also received legal punishments, including one of the minor assailants, 15 at the time, who entered a first-degree murder plea in a youth court and will serve a youth institution sentence through age 25, and a 17-year-old minor who entered a plea for robbery of a dwelling and voluntary manslaughter and received four years and two months in a youth institution. Keandre Rodgers, likewise, received a charge in connection with the murder, but information regarding his sentencing is not publicly available.
Audrey Jackson, Pop Smoke’s mother, is in deep mourning over her loss and will not go to Walker’s sentencing. As much as the court case is winding down, she keeps saying that her mourning will not stop.
Pop Smoke’s fan base and the hip-hop community have taken strong exception to Walker’s guilty plea. Most view that life of the rapper was a loss for the music community, for he was one of the most talented in the crew of Brooklyn drill. Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, a posthumous work, reached No. 1 in its first week at Billboard 200 and inscribed him in eternity forever.
