HOUSTON (AP) 鈥� A man who has been accused of illegally having a gun at the time that was fatally shot last month following a private party at a downtown Houston bowling alley has been charged in connection with the case, authorities said Wednesday.
But during a court hearing, prosecutors said the suspect, Cameron Joshua, 22, is not believed to have fired a weapon during Takeoff鈥檚 shooting. Joshua is facing a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon for allegedly having a handgun when as gunfire erupted outside of 810 Billiards & Bowling following a private party.
Takeoff, whose off-stage name was Kirsnick Khari Ball, formed one-third of the Grammy Award-nominated rap trio Migos with uncle Quavo and cousin Offset from suburban Atlanta.
鈥淲e believe Cameron Joshua has been appropriately charged in this case and we鈥檙e continuing our investigation into the death of Takeoff,鈥� Matt Gilliam, a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney鈥檚 Office, told reporters in a brief statement after Wednesday鈥檚 hearing.
Christopher Downey, Joshua's attorney, told reporters that he has not seen anything to suggest that his client fired a weapon or had anything to do with Takeoff鈥檚 shooting.
鈥淭he bottom line is ... Cameron Joshua did not shoot Takeoff,鈥� Downey said.
When asked if Joshua knows who shot Takeoff, Downey said, 鈥淲e will discuss that with the DA鈥檚 office if we decide to. Right now, we鈥檙e charged with offenses and we鈥檙e not saying anything.鈥�
During the hearing, a judge decided to keep Joshua in custody until a bond hearing set for next week.
Joshua is also facing a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon for allegedly having a weapon when he was arrested on Nov. 22. He had already been out on bond after being charged in Harris County with having a fake ID in September 2021 and with burglary of a vehicle in April. He had also been convicted in October in Los Angeles County of grand theft.
Houston police have said that least two people discharged firearms when Takeoff was killed. Takeoff鈥檚 primary cause of death was listed as 鈥減enetrating gunshot wounds of head and torso into arm,鈥�
Two others were hit by gunfire but had non-life-threatening wounds.
After the shooting, investigators sought to speak with the 40 people who attended the party and fled after the gunfire.
Migos first broke through with the massive hit 鈥淰ersace鈥� in 2013. They had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, though Takeoff was not on their multi-week No. 1 hit 鈥淏ad and Boujee,鈥� featuring Lil Uzi Vert. They put out a trilogy of albums called 鈥淐ulture,鈥� 鈥淐ulture II鈥� and 鈥淐ulture III,鈥� with the first two hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
At a , fans as well as recording artists such as Justin Bieber and Drake celebrated Takeoff鈥檚 musical legacy.
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Juan A. Lozano, The Associated Press
