Hip Hop

TaxStone Indicted For Troy Ave Bodyguard’s Murder

TaxStone is staring down a life sentence in prison after being indicted on Thursday for the murder of Troy Ave‘s bodyguard.

The New York hip-hop podcaster was arrested back in January of this year on gun charges, but cops later revealed that he was being investigated for the 2016 shooting at the Irving Plaza in New York which claimed that life of rapper Troy Ave’s bodyguard Ronald “Banga” McPhatter. Ave was also shot and injured in the incident, but it was later revealed that he shoots himself in the leg during the melee.

DNAinfo reported that TaxStone, whose real name is Daryl Campbell, was slapped with a second degree murder charge for the May 25th, 2016 shooting. Prosecutors have some solid evidence against him including video surveillance showing him fleeing the scene of the shooting. At least one witness identified him as the shooter and his DNA was found on the murder weapon.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten previously named Campbell is the shooter who killed McPhatter on that faithful night at the T.I. concert at Irving Plaza. The murder charge was delayed because TaxStone was being tried for gun charges in a federal court. The new murder charge is at the state level and will require a separate trial. The radio personality is currently held on a $500,000 bail while he awaits trial.

TaxStone pleaded not guilty to the charge which means if he is found guilty he could be sentenced to life. Interestingly, Troy Ave, real name Roland Collins, was initially arrested and charged with attempted murder in the incident, but the charge was later dropped as the investigation progress. Tax and Ave are believed to be beefing for quite some time now and the rapper was even shot and injured in December last year while heading to a family Christmas party in Brooklyn.