LOS ANGELES, CA – The last defendant in the 2020 killing of rapper Pop Smoke was sentenced to 29 years in state prison on Friday, closing a case that drew widespread attention in the music and legal communities.
Corey Walker, who was 19 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty earlier this month to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of home-invasion robbery in downtown Los Angeles. As part of his plea, he admitted to gang and firearm allegations.
Walker initially faced charges of murder with special circumstances, including allegations that the killing occurred during the course of a robbery and burglary. Had he gone to trial and been convicted on those charges, he could have faced life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Walker was the only adult among the four individuals charged in the case. The other three suspects, all juveniles at the time, were prosecuted in juvenile court, where their identities were withheld due to their ages.
One of the juvenile defendants, who was 15 at the time of the killing, pleaded guilty in 2023 to first-degree murder, admitting that he personally fired the fatal shot. He also pleaded guilty to home-invasion robbery and is expected to remain in a juvenile facility until he turns 25. Because of his age at the time of the crime, he could not be tried as an adult under California law.
Another juvenile defendant pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home-invasion robbery, while the third admitted to a charge of home-invasion robbery. The current custody status of those two individuals remains unclear.
Details Of The Crime
According to court records, Walker admitted to knowing that Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Jackson, was staying at a short-term rental in the Hollywood Hills. He acknowledged that he first drove with a 17-year-old co-conspirator to scope out the house around 2:05 a.m. on February 19, 2020, and later returned with the three juveniles and an unidentified accomplice shortly after 4 a.m.
Walker admitted to providing a 9mm firearm to one of the younger suspects and conducting online research on the Los Angeles Police Department and the home before the crime. He also admitted to driving with the vehicle’s headlights off and maintaining phone communication with the 17-year-old while the others entered the house.
During the robbery, the group stole a Rolex watch, jewelry, and a purse. The watch was later sold for $2,000.
Authorities said the 911 call that alerted police to the break-in came from a person on the East Coast who reported that a friend’s home was being invaded by armed suspects.
“When officers arrived there approximately six minutes later, they discovered a victim inside the house had been shot,” Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Steve Lurie said at the time. “They called the fire department, who arrived and transported that victim to Cedars-Sinai, where he was pronounced dead.”
Investigators said the suspects were masked and were last seen running from the property before possibly getting into a nearby vehicle. Five months later, Walker and the three juveniles were taken into custody.
Pop Smoke’s Legacy
Pop Smoke was a rising star in the Brooklyn drill music scene before his death. In July 2019, he released an album that included the track Welcome to the Party, which became one of the most talked-about songs of that summer. Rapper Nicki Minaj later released a remix of the track.
The rapper also collaborated with Travis Scott on the song Gatti, further cementing his growing influence in the hip-hop industry.
Following his death, his album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was released posthumously and achieved significant commercial success. At the Billboard Music Awards in 2021, he was posthumously honored as Top New Artist, Top Rap Artist, and Top Male Rap Artist. His album won Top Rap Album and Top Billboard 200 Album.
Accepting the award on his behalf, his mother, Audrey Jackson, spoke about the significance of his music and its message to young people.
“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 said. “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.”
Reports indicate that Pop Smoke had posted photos from a party at the rental home hours before the shooting, inadvertently revealing the address. One of the images reportedly showed a person holding a large sum of money, leading authorities to believe the suspects targeted him based on the social media posts.
