TSR Exclusive: The only adult suspect charged with the murder of the late priest Smoke is trying to drop several of his charges based on the fact that he was only the alleged driver at the time of the crime and did not personally kill anyone.
The shaded room was in court this morning when Corey Walker and his lawyer, Christopher Darden, appeared before a judge asking him to dismiss several charges, including murder with the special circumstance that it took place during a robbery and burglary. Walker is one of four suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Pop Smoke, and the other suspects were minors at the time of the incident.
While Darden tells us that they are negotiating a settlement, he admits that his team and the district attorney’s office “are not close.” “Maybe we’ll have a solution … or not,” Darden said, adding, “We all realize my client didn’t kill anyone.” He is a 19-year-old child. “
The Shadow Room received documents filed this morning with the Los Angeles County Supreme Court in which Darden claims that Walker was not the shooter nor did he enter the house when the crime took place in the early hours of February 19, 2020. Darden, that means Walker should not be seen as a major participant in the murder.
In fact, Darden even claims that when his client gave a gun to another of the suspects before the teenagers entered the home, he argued that if teenagers had to defend themselves inside, they should “use a vase of flowers, not shoot someone.” “
“There is no evidence that the defendant had any previous criminal experience with his suspects or that he knew that any of them had been particularly violent or inclined to shoot and kill the victim,” the document said. “The defendant did everything possible to prevent the death of the victim given the nature of the crime. The defendant was not present at the house during the shooting, so there was nothing he could do to prevent the shooting once the suspects were inside.
According to the documents, Darden even claims that Walker was so upset by the actions of his associates that he attacked the 15-year-old shooter when they returned from the scene.
“It simply came to our notice then. The plan was for no one to be killed or wounded, “the documents said.
Darden also said his client did not know anyone else was carrying a gun in the home other than the “heat” he was delivering to the teenager, the documents said. Walker’s gun is not the gun used to kill Pop Smoke, Darden said.
“He handed a gun to a man and told him not to use it. This man did not use the gun or killed the victim, “Darden said.
At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors said Walker inspected the house hours earlier and knew the teens planned to rob Pop Smoke with a gun to get the ice he flashed in his Instagram photos earlier that day.
“They are specifically targeting this house, wanting the victim to be there,” prosecutor Hillary Williams said, adding that Walker’s actions showed “reckless indifference to human life.”
Prosecutors are likely to respond to the request on Friday before the judge rules at Walker’s next hearing, which is scheduled for early December. We will keep you informed of all updates.
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