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The suspect in Pop Smoke's murder pleaded guilty on April 6 and has been sentenced to four years and two months. While appearing in juvenile court, the suspect pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery. Smoke was murdered on February 19, 2020.
The suspect's identity has not been revealed until now, following a court order from Judge J. Christopher Smith, where the media has been ordered to keep everything a secret. Smoke was shot dead while attempting to fight back the assailants, according to the 20-year-old suspect, who admitted that he broke into Pop's house as a teenager with the purpose of robbing Pop.
Judge J. Christopher Smith sent the suspect to juvenile custody before he turned 25. Among the three other suspects charged with murder, two are 15 and 17 years old, respectively, and the third is 19-year-old Corey Walker.
In another hearing back in August 2022, Deputy District Attorney Hilary Williams told the judge that the suspect had an eye on Pop Smoke's house, assisted Walker in bringing in three more people to rob Jackson's residence, and was in contact with Walker after entering the home.
Pop Smoke's murder and the arrest of the suspects
Before his death in February 2020, Pop Smoke shared a picture on social media of a gift bag from the clothing brand Amiri and the brand disclosed the address where he was residing.
The same day, a group of assailants entered his residence and broke into his bedroom. Smoke was reportedly in the shower at the time, and he was shot dead with three bullets being fired at his back. The group stole Smoke's Rolex and other jewelry and fled the scene. Three adults and two minors were arrested on murder charges in July 2020.
One of the suspects spoke to a cellmate and disclosed that Pop Smoke was ready to give the jewelry but fought them, which led to a confrontation where Smoke was hit with a pistol and shot dead.
The suspect was claimed to be intellectually disabled
During the investigation, detectives found that the suspect, who recently pleaded guilty, had participated in other criminal activities in the past. Martin Lijtmaer, the suspect's attorney, claimed that he had an intellectual disability; however, Jody Ward, a psychologist, asserted that the suspect was pretending to be disabled.
During the hearing in August 2022, Ward mentioned that the suspect was an average-level student at his school and was first arrested when he was 14. Ward added that considering his IQ was found to be 52, it was difficult for him to plan something big like this.
Ward continued by saying that the suspect knew everything about the judicial process and planned to obtain information from detectives without revealing anything from his side. A judge discovered that the suspect was eligible to stand trial despite being disabled, considering the evidence of the jailhouse recording and his conversations with his mother, who claimed he knew about the judicial process.
Lijtmaer claimed that after the decision on the appeal was declared and he was moving towards rehabilitation, her client made the decision to enter a guilty plea.
