18-year-old man confesses to killing rapper Pop Smoke in his Hollywood Hills home
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An 18-year-old man who was charged in the death of Pop Smoke confessed to fatally shooting the rapper in juvenile court on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The defendant, who was 15 years old at the time of the killing, admitted to first-degree murder and home invasion robbery charges and that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm during the February 2020 incident, per the outlet.
The presiding judge has issued a court order that the defendant's name not be made public because he was a minor when the shooting occurred. He is reportedly expected to be held in a juvenile facility until he is 25.
Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images Pop Smoke
The 18-year-old man was one of four charged with killing the rapper, born Bashar Barakah Jackson, while he was staying in a rented home in the Hollywood Hills in February 2020, the Associated Press reported. His confession comes one month after one of his accomplices, who was 17 at the time, was sentenced to four years and two months in a juvenile facility after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery.
Pop Smoke was on a four-day trip to Los Angeles when his rental home was broken into after he posted an image on Instagram that revealed its address, reports the Los Angeles Times. He was in the shower when the men entered his bedroom, pistol-whipped him, and shot him in the back three times, according to testimony shared by the outlet. The men also reportedly stole Pop Smoke's watch, which they later sold for $2,000.
The rapper, who was widely credited with bringing the Brooklyn drill sound to the mainstream, rose to prominence following the release of his 2019 single "Welcome to the Party." He released two mixtapes — 2019's Meet the Woo and 2020's Meet the Woo 2 — and his debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, was released in July 2020 after his death.
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