Pookie Loc: The Man Gucci Mane Was Accused of Murdering in 2005

Bibb County Jail Pookie Loc aka Henry Clark III pictured on the website for Bibb County Jail.

Pookie Loc is the man Gucci Mane aka Radric Davis was accused of killing in May 2005 in Decatur, Georgia. Pookie Loc’s real name was Henry Lee Clark III. Charges against Davis, now 40, were dropped in 2006 due to insufficient evidence.

On May 10, 2005, Davis and his friends became involved in an altercation with a group of men inside of the home of a female friend. MTV reported in 2006 that Davis told investigators that a group of four men, all clad in black, burst into the apartment and began assaulting those who were inside. The fight resulted in gunfire being exchanged.

In that gunfire, Henry Lee Clark III, was shot dead. He was 27 years old. Clark was later found in a wooded area outside nearby Columbia Middle School, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Davis turned himself in in relation to murder charges in the case on May 19, 2005. Davis admitted that he fired on the group but maintained that it was self-defense.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. When the Charges Were Dropped, the DA Said the Case Could Be Reopened

GettyKeyshia Ka’Oir and Gucci Mane attends the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on January 26, 2020, in Los Angeles, California.

When the charges were dropped in January 2006, Mane’s attorney, Dennis Scheib, told MTV that a witness had come forward to corroborate Davis’ claims. The witness was the condo owner and had been outside the apartment trimming hedges when the incident occurred. Scheib earlier said that the witness described the scene as looking like a robbery or assault, according to MTV.

DeKalb District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming said at the time that the case could be reopened “if new information comes to light,” MTV reported. At the time of the dropping of the charges, Davis was serving time after pleading no contest to charges of assaulting a nightclub owner. Sergeant W. Durrett of the DeKalb County Police Department was quoted by MTV as saying that Clark and the other men involved were “acquaintances” of Davis. Durrett said that investigators believe the gun used in the shooting belonged to Davis.

2. Jeezy Sang About Pookie Loc’s Death on the 2015 Song ‘Forgive Me’

On November 17, 2020, Davis’ rival Jeezy, whose real name is Jay Wayne Jenkins, 43, posted a meme on Instagram that read, “Gucci mane: go dig ya partna up n**** I bet he can’t say s***.” That is a paraphrasing of Davis’ song “Truth,” which references Clark’s death. The accompanying photo showed a man apparently trying to jump away from law enforcement officers. Davis and Jenkins are scheduled to battle on Verzuz on Thursday, November 19, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Jenkins referenced Clark’s death in the 2015 song “Forgive Me.” According to Genius, Jenkins sings in the song, “Rest in peace to Pookie Loc, blame it on me never snitching/Lord knows I ain’t send the homie on no dummy mission.” Jenkins told Genius in 2015 that he wanted the world to know that he did not send Clark to rob Davis. Jenkins said, “I just wanted to put that in the air like, Lord knows I would never send homie on no dummy mission. I got too much love.” Jenkins added that he has been accused of setting his friend up for death for 10 years.

3. Jenkins Says He Is Open to Settling His Beef With Mane

Jenkins said on the ExpediTiously podcast in July 2020, via Hot97, that he would be willing to sit down with Davis to talk about their issues. Jenkins said, “It gotta really be a convo. What I’ve learned over the years, this s*** big business. People that went to Yale still do business with people that went to Harvard. So it’s just one of those real convos, it’s been decades.”

Davis said in a December 2019 interview with Charlamagne Tha God that “[Clark] needed to being in the ground.” Davis said that he “put his a** where he supposed to be.” Davis accused Clark of “trying” him. He added, “If somebody comes he and try to kill you, yeah you know it’s self-defense … you gotta do what you gotta do.”

According to a 2012 story in Rolling Out, the “feud began over a dispute regarding the rights to the 2005 single “Icy,” and Davis’s associates said the “attack was in response to the earlier financial dispute.”

4. Mane Was Threatened With Violence When He Performed in Pookie Loc’s Hometown in 2012

Rolling Out reported in 2012 that Pookie Loc was a rapper associated with Corporate Thugz Entertainment. That label is associated with Jenkins. He was a native of Macon, Georgia. At the time of the feature, Davis was due to perform in Macon, Georgia, for the first time since the Clark shooting. The concert happened despite the circulation of a video in which a masked man told Davis to “stay home.”

“Don’t come disrespect our city like that. Because you know what you trying to do. Why gamble like that? Why play like that? … You playing with the set. Blatantly trying to disrespect us. … I guess you think this is some s*** to play with,” the masked man warns in the video.

The New York Times reported in July 2005 that Clark was a member of the rap collective Loccish Lifestyle.

5. During His Life, Pookie Loc Was Arrested More Than 20 Times

The book of poetry Street Gangstoetry: O.G. Rated (Loyalty is to Die Fo’) by Mr. Bigmann was dedicated to Clark’s memory. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in May 2005 that Clark had a lengthy criminal record and had “been in the Bibb County Jail 20 times,” according to a police spokesperson. Clark’s charges included possession of cocaine, possession of a concealed weapon, participating in a criminal gang, assault and other felonies, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

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