The Los Angeles Police Department Thursday announced the arrests of three men and two boys in connection with the Feb. 19 shooting death of Bashar Jackson, a New York-based rapper known as Pop Smoke.
Investigators said they believe the men and boys entered Jackson’s short-term rental home in the Hollywood Hills, and shot and robbed him inside the home, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Jackson, 20, was found when officers went to 2033 Hercules Drive in the Hollywood Hills about 4 a.m. Feb. 19 in response to a 911 call. He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Corey Walker, 19, Jaquan Murphy, 21, and Keandre D. Rodgers, 18, were arrested Thursday, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Each are being held on $1 million bail.
Investigators believe at least some of the suspects are involved in the killing of 18-year-old Kamryn Stone in the Rose Bowl parking lot on Sept. 14, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Walker was arrested for suspicion of murder about 2:10 a.m. near Laurel Canyon Boulevard and the Hollywood (101) Freeway, police said.
Murphy was arrested for suspicion of attempted murder about 5:30 a.m. in the 9500 block of South Avalon Boulevard, near East 95th Street, according to police.
Rodgers was arrested for suspicion of murder about 5:10 a.m. in the 300 block of West 74th Street, near South Broadway, police said.
Two juveniles were also arrested and booked for suspicion of murder, but their names were not released.
Investigators said they believe the suspects are “members of a Los Angeles street gang,” according to police.
LAPD Capt. Steve Lurie said the 911 call came from someone on the East Coast who “stated a friend of theirs home was being broken into by multiple suspects, and that one of them was armed with a handgun.”
“When officers arrived there approximately six minutes later, they discovered a victim inside the house had been shot,” Lurie said. “They called the fire department, who arrived and transported that victim to Cedars-Sinai, where he was pronounced dead.”
The suspects were wearing masks and were last seen running from the home and possibly getting into a nearby vehicle.
Officers detained several people who were inside the house, according to Lurie, but “all of those folks were released. … No one was arrested at the scene.”
Pop Smoke released an album in July 2019, and one of the songs, “Welcome to the Party,” was considered by many the song of the summer. Nicki Minaj did a remix of the song a few months later.
The rapper also collaborated with Travis Scott on a song called “Gatti.”
According to various media reports, the up-and-coming New York rapper posted photos earlier on Feb. 19 or late on Feb. 18 from a party at the home, even revealing the address. According to TMZ, one of the photos showed a person holding a large sum of money.
Property records indicate the home where the shooting occurred is owned by Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave — who appears on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and is a daughter of musician John Mellencamp — and her husband, Edwin Arroyave.