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Man gets 29 years in killing of rapper Pop Smoke in Hollywood Hills

February 21, 2025

The lone adult charged in connection with the Hollywood Hills killing of rap artist Pop Smoke in 2020 was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 21, to 29 years in state prison.

Corey Walker, age 19 at the time of the killing, had pleaded guilty on Feb. 5 in downtown Los Angeles to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of home-invasion robbery.

Walker — who admitted gang and gun allegations — could have faced life in prison without the possibility of parole if he had been tried and convicted on the original allegations, which included murder during the course of a robbery.

Walker was the only adult among four people charged in the killing of the 20-year-old rapper, whose real name was Bashar Jackson. The other three were charged in juvenile court, and their names were withheld because of their ages.

In 2023, one defendant, who was 15 at the time of the killing, admitted a first-degree murder charge along with an allegation he personally discharged a handgun. He also admitted to a home-invasion robbery count, and he is expected to remain in a juvenile facility until he turns 25.

Another juvenile admitted to one count each of voluntary manslaughter and home-invasion robbery, and the third admitted to a charge of home-invasion robbery. The current custody status of those defendants was unclear.

Walker acknowledged that he became aware that the rapper was staying at a short-term rental home on Hercules Drive in the Hollywood Hills, and that he initially drove with a 17-year-old to case the house about 2 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2020, and then returned with three teenagers and another person — whose identity has not been released — shortly after 4 a.m.

Walker admitted to providing a 9mm firearm to one juvenile.

Walker also acknowledged that he had researched the Los Angeles Police Department and the house on the websites Zillow and Google, driven with the vehicle’s headlights off and kept an open line of communication with the 17-year-old while the rest of the group went inside the home.

He admitted that the rapper’s Rolex watch, along with jewelry and a purse, were taken from the home, and that the group later sold the watch for $2,000.

LAPD Capt. Steve Lurie said the 911 call that brought police to the Hercules Drive address came from someone on the East Coast who said a friend’s home was being broken into by multiple suspects, and that one of them was armed with a handgun.

“When officers arrived there approximately six minutes later, they discovered a victim inside the house had been shot,” Lurie said at the time. “They called the Fire Department, who arrived and transported that victim to Cedars-Sinai, where he was pronounced dead.”

The four were taken into custody just under five months later.

Pop Smoke released an album in July 2019, and one of the songs, “Welcome to the Party,” was considered by some the song of that summer. Nicki Minaj did a remix of the song a few months later. The rapper also collaborated with Travis Scott on a song called “Gatti.”

Pop Smoke was named top new artist, top rap artist and top male rap artist at the Billboard Music Awards in May 2021, while his “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon” won top rap album and top Billboard 200 album.

The rapper’s mother, Audrey Jackson, accepted the top Billboard 200 album award on her late son’s behalf, saying then that she wanted to “thank the fans for honoring the life and spirit of my son so much that he continues to manifest as if he were still here in the flesh.”

“He created music for the kid who has to sleep four in a room, the kid who has to figure out how to get to school each day so he can graduate and make his mom proud,” she added. “He did this so that 14-year-olds would not have to kill to prove that they are somebody. That is the irony in this.”

According to various media reports, the New York rapper posted photos earlier on the day of the killing or late the night before from a party at the home, even revealing the address. According to TMZ, one of the photos showed a person holding a large sum of money.

Orange County Register

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Man gets 29 years in killing of rapper Pop Smoke in Hollywood Hills

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