Two men and two teen boys were charged Monday with breaking into a Hollywood Hills home where Pop Smoke was staying and fatally shooting the 20-year-old rapper during a robbery in February.
The adult defendants — 19-year-old Corey Walker and Keandre Rodgers, 18 — could face the death penalty if convicted on the allegation that the murder occurred during a burglary, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The criminal complaint also includes gang and gun allegations, according to prosecutors.
The two teen defendants, ages 17 and 15, each face one count of murder and robbery, the DA’s office said.
Last week, the Los Angeles Police Department announced five arrests in the Feb. 19 home-invasion killing, saying three men and two teenage boys likely went to the home Pop Smoke was renting after it was seen on the rapper’s social media posts.
Investigators said the men broke into the home around 4 a.m. and did steal some belongings, although they declined to divulge what was taken.
Pop Smoke, whose legal name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, was the only person shot.
One of the men arrested by police, 21-year-old Jaquan Murphy, was not charged. Officials had not said what they suspected his role was. Inmate records show Murphy remained behind bars Monday on $1 million bail.
LAPD said some of the suspects are also linked to the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Kamryn Stone outside the Rose Bowl last September, which is believed to be gang-related. That case remains under investigation by Pasadena police.
Pop Smoke and the entourage staying with him in the Hollywood Hills are not believed to be associated with the gang, police told the Associated Press.
The home was rented from Edwin Arroyave and his wife Teddi Mellencamp, daughter of Rock & Roll Hall-of-Famer John Mellencamp and a cast member on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” according to AP.
Walker and Rodgers were scheduled to be arraigned Monday. If convicted as charged, the men could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Both men remain in custody on $1 million bail, according to booking records.
