The gravesite of Pop Smoke, who was gunned down in 2020, was vandalized and vandals attempted to drag his casket out of the crypt, according to TMZ. Photos show the destruction of the grave.
Police are conducting an investigation into the vandalism, they told TMZ. Police believe the damage occurred sometime between 2:30 p.m. Friday, September 10, 2021, and 2 p.m. Saturday, September 11, 2021, the outlet reported.
Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, was shot to death during a robbery in his Hollywood Hills home on February 19, 2020, according to FOX LA. He was 20 years old.
Here’s what you need to know:
NYPD Is Investigating the Vandalism but Said There Were No Cameras Recording the Crime
An employee at the Brooklyn cemetery discovered the damage to Pop Smoke’s grave Saturday afternoon, September 11, 2021, and reported it to NYPD, according to TMZ. NYPD told TMZ the vandals caused about $500 in damage at their current assessment. No cameras recorded the incident, police told TMZ, and no arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon, September 12.
According to Find a Grave, Pop Smoke is buried in Section 31 of the Locust Grove Mausoleum in Crypt 712A at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
TMZ reported that the gravesite was “utterly destroyed,” the crypt was “smashed” and vandals “apparently tried dragging his casket out.” The outlet reported Pop Smoke’s grave, which is on the outer ring of the mausoleum, appeared to be targeted directly. The marble plaque on his crypt was cracked and broken, TMZ reported.
Debris was left behind, including what appeared to be burned and discarded joints, according to TMZ.
An eye witness told TMZ there were drag marks left on the ground, which indicated the vandals may have either gotten into his crypt or attempted to do so. A concrete slab was separated from the crypt, and the eyewitness believed it was part of the wall enclosure for Pop Smoke’s grave. The plaque was later replaced with a blank slab, and caution tape was around the grave hours later, the witness told TMZ.
Los Angeles Prosecutors Are Seeking Life in Prison for the Adult Suspect, Corey Walker, in Pop Smoke’s Murder
Corey Walker, 20, and three juveniles were charged in Pop Smoke’s murder, according to FOX LA. Los Angeles County Prosecutors said in July they would not seek the death penalty in the case but would instead seek life in prison without the possibility of parole for Walker. FOX LA reported that court proceedings in the case were repeatedly postponed.
Walker’s defense attorney, Christopher Darden, told the New York Daily News in June 2021 that Walker’s family wished to speak with Pop Smoke’s family privately.
“The Walker family has asked me to contact the victim’s family so that they might speak privately. I hope to reach out to the family soon,” Darden told the Daily News.
Darden told the Daily News that his client did not want anyone to die in the incident and told the younger suspects not to hurt anyone.
FOX LA reviewed records that indicated the house where Pop Smoke was shot was an Airbnb owned by Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and her husband Edwin Arroyave.
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