After Troy Ave pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon on Monday (May 30), investigators found that a gun recovered from a hidden compartment in a van matched the bullet that killed his bodyguard Ronald “Banga” McPhatter, DNAinfo reports. The vehicle is what transported Ave to a local hospital after he was shot in the leg.
The shooting broke out at New York’s Irving Plaza Wednesday (May 25). Three were wounded, including the BSB rapper, whose real name is Roland Collins. Banga was the only fatality.
According to PIX 11, investigators are now looking for a second suspect who might have shot at Ave and McPhatter.
The prosecution was building its case with a surveillance video that shows someone who has been identified as Ave firing a gun in a green room area at the venue. However, his lawyers claim the video only tells part of the story and their client was acting in self defense. Initial reports alleged that he shot himself in the leg, a claim his legal team refutes.
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Sources say that someone who has had an ongoing feud with Ave confronted the rapper prior to the scene that the surveillance video shows. It reportedly developed into a fistfight and then the second suspect took out a gun and fired Ave in the leg and Banga in the chest.
Early rumors circulated that fellow Brooklyn, New York rapper Maino, who performed with Uncle Murda as the opening act for T.I. at the show, was the one who confronted Troy Ave. Maino took to Instagram to deny his involvement in the shooting and call for unity among the borough’s rap scene.
Model Maggie Carrie Heckstall, who is Maino’s girlfriend, was shot in the leg and is reportedly preparing a lawsuit against those involved in the incident, including Live Nation who owns Irving Plaza. Her lawyers also sent a sent a cease-and-desist letter to the NYPD because they reportedly posted up at her hospital room and would not allow her family to visit her. She is claiming they harassed her for information regarding the shooting.
