Podcast Personality Taxstone Arrested in Connection to 2016 Irving Plaza Shooting
In May of 2016, Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave was injured in a shooting at Irving Plaza that left his bodyguard Ronald "Banga" McPhatter dead. No arrests were made in the following months, but on Monday (Jan. 16), podcast personality Taxstone was apprehended by police and arrested in Brooklyn in relation to the shooting.
NBC reports that U.S. Marshals New York and New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Taxstone, born Darryl Campbell, in Brooklyn this morning. Sources tell NBC he was wanted for a federal warrant that charged him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, but he was also being sought by the NYPD in connection to the Irving Plaza shooting.
According to the New York Times, a federal complaint sworn out by Detective Jose Flores of the New York Police Department says what is believed to be Campbell's DNA was found on the gun that killed Banga and injured Troy Ave during that Irving Plaza shooting. It's the same gun Troy is seen firing in the footage that spread across the internet; the man at the bottom of the video is said to be Taxstone. You can see the video in question below.
The Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information informed XXL that along with unknown federal charges, Taxstone is also facing criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
The shooting occurred in a green room on the third floor of the venue where a fistfight broke out and escalated to gunfire. Footage from inside the green room emerged soon after the news broke, and the shooter was said to be captured on surveillance footage, but no arrests have been made until now.
Following the shooting, Troy Ave was arraigned on charges including attempted murder after footage showed him shooting back at somebody in Irving Plaza. He and his lawyers have since maintained his innocence, claiming self defense. They have also filed a lawsuit against Irving Plaza and Live Nation for lax security.
Just weeks ago, Troy Ave was shot again, this time while sitting in a red Maserati on his way to visit family in Brooklyn. 50 Cent visited the BK rapper in the hospital as he recovered.
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