As per Complex, Pop Smoke was on the radar of police prior to his untimely passing. In a new interview, former NYPD Chief John Chell recently made an appearance on The John Rondi Show. The retired law enforcement official discussed a variety of topics regarding the city’s crime during his tenure and some famous cases he oversaw. He went on to add that he and his team had been investigating the G-Stone Crips, a gang they believe Pop Smoke had affiliation with.
“He’s the up-and-coming star, if you will, and we were into that gang, and he was part of it, but we didn’t have much on Pop,” he said. “What Pop did, he stole a Rolls-Royce I think from LA [Los Angeles] to Canarsie [Brooklyn], and we tried to leverage that.” Chell went on to lay out how they used the alleged grand theft auto to their advantage. “We made an arrest, and we tried to leverage that,” Chell said, explaining that police frequently use these types of tactics to get high-profile individuals to cooperate. “You might be running with the gang guys, and they’re your friends,” Chell said. “But you got a lot more to lose. You got millions, you’re a rising star.”
On Jan. 17, 2020 Pop Smoke was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport for allegedly stealing a Rolls-Royce Wraith. The owner said he loaned the rapper the car for a video shoot with the understanding that it would be returned the next day. Authorities would later find the automobile in question at his mother’s house in Brooklyn. According to the New York Post, police tried to get him to talk on the Crip gang, but he refused to cooperate.
You can see John Chell talk about Pop Smoke below.
