July 14 (UPI) — Prosecutors in Los Angeles have charged four people including two juveniles with murder, accusing them of killing rapper Pop Smoke during a home robbery in February.
Corey Walker, 19, and Keandre Rodgers, 18, were charged with murder under the special circumstance that the crime was committed during a robbery, making them eligible for the death penalty, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said Monday in a statement.
The two minors, ages 17 and 15, were not named and were each charged with one count of murder and robbery in juvenile court, prosecutors said.
Bashar Barakah Jackson, the 20-year-old New York rapper known as Pop Smoke, was fatally shot on Feb. 19 when masked gunmen broke into the Hollywood Hills home where he was staying while visiting Los Angeles.
The charges came after the Los Angeles Police Department announced late last week that detectives had arrested three adults and two juveniles, all males, in connection to Jackson’s slaying.
The fifth suspect was identified by the LAPD as 21-year-old Jaquan Murphy.
The three named suspects were all separately arrested in the early hours of Thursday.
The LAPD said that during the course of its investigation it learned that members of a Los Angeles street gang were involved in killing Jackson.
The District Attorney’s Office said the complaint also contains gang and gun allegations against Walker and Rodgers.
Though Walker and Rodgers could face the death penalty if convicted, California Gov. Gavin Newsom through an executive order placed a moratorium on the punishment in March.
