A man charged in connection with the fatal shooting of the late rapper Pop Smoke is facing up to 29 years in prison after accepting a plea deal.
Corey Walker, 24, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in court today (February 5) and two counts of home-invasion robbery for his role in the 2020 killing of the New York-based rapper.
Walker had initially been charged with murder and could have faced up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He now faces up to 29 years in state prison when he is sentenced on February 21, according to CBS News.
He was one of four people charged in connection with the killing which happened at a rented Hollywood Hills home during a home-invasion robbery in February 2020. Pop Smoke – real name Bashar Jackson – was 20-years-old.
The group allegedly invaded the rapper’s Airbnb rental in Los Angeles with the aim of stealing his diamond-studded Rolex watch and Cuban link chain. They ended up stealing the watch, which they are alleged to have resold for $2,000 (£1,405).
Walker was 19 at the time of the killing while another defendant in the case, Keandre Rodgers, was 22. The other two remaining defendants were underage.
Rodgers had also initially been charged with murder, and both he and Walker first faced charges with special allegations that made them eligible for the death penalty.
A year late, Los Angeles prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty against Walker.
The two teenagers linked to the killing, who were 17 and 15 when prosecutors filed charges in July 2020, have both since admitted their roles. The latter admitted to first-degree murder in a juvenile court in May 2023 and is expected to remain at a juvenile facility until he is 25.
The former pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in April 2023. As he was a 17-year-old minor at the time of the 2020 shooting, the man also faced juvenile court in Inglewood, and was sentenced to four years and two months in a juvenile facility.
There was an outpouring of tributes from the hip-hop community following Jackson’s death, with Joey Bada$$, Pusha T, 50 Cent, Fivio Foreign and more paying their respects. Jackson’s debut album, ‘Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon’, was released posthumously in 2020. A second posthumous album, ‘Faith’, arrived the following year, featuring appearances from Rick Ross, 21 Savage, Takeoff, Future, Dua Lipa, Pharrell, Kid Cudi, Quavo and more.