Suspect Charged In Takeoff's Killing Says He’s Innocent, According To His Lawyer
The man accused of fatally shooting rap star Takeoff claims that he’s innocent.
Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, who appeared Monday (Nov. 5) in court wearing handcuffs and an orange jail jumpsuit, remained silent at the hearing where his attorney asked the court to reduce his bond, the Associated Press reported.
After the hearing, Clark’s attorney, Letitia Quinones, told reporters that her client, who is charged with murder, is “nervous and he’s concerned” because “he’s being charged with something that he believes he’s innocent of, so how would anyone do in that type of circumstance?”
Takeoff, 28, a founding member of the hip hop supergroup Migos, was shot in the head and back outside a Houston bowling alley on Nov. 1 as more than 30 people were leaving a private party at a Houston bowling alley.
Local station KPRC reported that prosecutors have video evidence of Clark pointing and firing a gun in the direction of a group of people. Investigators found his fingerprints on a wine bottle that Clark left at the scene. The police arrested Clark on Dec. 1.
According to Houston police officials, a dispute over a dice game preceded at least two people opening fire around 2:30 a.m. The suburban Atlanta rapper, born Kirsnick Khari Ball, was an innocent bystander. It’s unclear if Clark, a DJ, and Takeoff knew each other.
Quinones declined to reveal if her client knew Takeoff because she didn’t “want to go into the facts at this point.” She said the rapper’s death is a tragedy and urged people to “keep an open mind” as the investigation continues, reminding reporters that Clark is “innocent until proven guilty.”
Police said they arrested Clark as he was preparing to travel to Mexico with an expedited passport and a lot of cash on him – leaving many to speculate that he was trying to flee.
“He wasn’t trying to go anywhere,” Quinones said, adding that the trip to Mexico was a planned vacation that he canceled before his arrest.
Clark is being held on a $2 million bond. He is expected to appear in court again on Dec. 14 for a bond reduction hearing.
