Pop Smoke Murder Suspect Reaches Plea Deal, Will Serve 29 Years in Prison

Corey Walker Pleads Guilty in Pop Smoke’s Killing, Avoids Murder Charge

Nearly five years after the tragic death of rising rapper Pop Smoke, the only adult defendant in the case, Corey Walker, 24, has accepted a plea deal. Walker pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped the murder charge but added the manslaughter count, leading to a 29-year prison sentence with an added gun enhancement on the robbery charge.

Walker also admitted to robbing a woman present at Pop Smoke’s Airbnb the night of the fatal shooting, with the two-year sentence for those charges running concurrently with his 29-year term. The plea deal comes just days before jury selection was set to begin for Walker’s trial, which was scheduled to proceed next week.

In court, Walker admitted to arming a juvenile with a 9mm pistol before the deadly robbery on February 19, 2020. The attack led to Pop Smoke being shot multiple times in the confrontation. Authorities revealed that the suspects tracked the location of the Airbnb from a gift bag Pop Smoke posted on Instagram just hours before.

Walker also confessed to selling the rapper’s stolen Rolex watch for $2,000. His grandmother and young daughter were present at the hearing. Walker’s attorney, Kellen Davis, emphasized that his client never intended for Pop Smoke to be harmed, asserting that while they were confident of an acquittal on the murder charge, the risk of severe sentencing enhancements made this plea agreement the best possible outcome.

At just 20, Pop Smoke was a rising star in the music world, particularly within Brooklyn drill music, and his death has left a lasting impact on the genre.