On Thursday (May 25), 33-year-old Patrick Xavier Clark was formally indicted for the murder of Kirsnick Khari Ball, better known as rapper Takeoff, by a Texas grand jury.
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This charge comes more than six months after Takeoff was killed at a bowling alley in Houston, Texas, while with his collaborator and uncle Quavo. The two were present for a dice game taking place at the venue when an argument started and shots were fired. While he was an innocent bystander during the altercation, Takeoff sustained fatal bullet wounds to his head and torso.
It’s unclear to which degree of murder Clark will be charged, but prosecutors believe he is the one who fired the gun that killed Takeoff. In response to Thursday’s news, Clark’s attorney Carl Moore issued a statement to TMZ.
“Today’s action by the grand jury is not unexpected,” he said. “We would ask people to remember that getting an indictment requires meeting a very, very minimal standard of proof. When we get inside a courtroom and in front of a jury, where we will be able to put on our evidence and cross-examine the state’s witnesses— where the standard of proof is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt— we expect the jury will come back with a verdict of not guilty.”
Clark was first arrested as a suspect in December, after being tracked down by cell phone records just before he was set to travel to Mexico. His bond was posted at $1 million, which he eventually met and was released in January.
After Clark was charged in Texas, Cardi B, the wife of former Migos member and Takeoff collaborator Offset, posted a message on her Instagram story remembering the late emcee.
“What (an) angel god (blessed) this earth with,” she wrote. “Protect your brothers and your family. I know you see the tears I know you see them looking at the sky asking why…What a beautiful soul to take.”
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images
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