Additional reporting by Shirley Ju (@shirju)
(AllHipHop News) Troy Ave (born Roland Collins) is set to return to a Manhattan courthouse on September 13. Back in 2016, the Brooklyn rapper pleaded not guilty in his pending attempted murder and illegal weapon possession case.
Those charges stem from a fatal shooting inside New York City’s Irving Plaza. Troy Ave’s friend/bodyguard Ronald “Banga” McPhatter was killed. Collins has insisted he acted in self-defense, and that will likely be his legal strategy in the upcoming trial.
“Sh*t, everybody knows what happened. It ain’t even nothing to argue. It’s right there, the proof is in the pudding. The proof is in black and white paperwork, in the FBI paperwork. I don’t even have to argue anything, it’s there,” Troy tells AllHipHop. “They see that it’s not my gun, I never brought no gun in the club. DNA evidence proves that, so where’d I get it from?
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Assistant District Attorney Christine Keenan admitted the prosecution does not believe Collins brought the weapon into Irving Plaza. Tax Season podcast host Daryl “Taxstone” Campbell’s DNA was reportedly found on the gun used in the shootout. Taxtone pleaded guilty to firearm charges as a result of the violent encounter that took place at a T.I.-headlining concert in May 2016.
“I got [the gun] from the assailant. I didn’t make this up, we didn’t splice the genetics on the one gun. They should just free Troy Ave,” expressed the “Money Ova Here” rhymer. “If this were to happen somewhere else, I would have been a hero. Because if you look at it, I saved mad people from getting shot. There are three other victims, more people could have died. If I didn’t do what I did, fought the gun away and wrestled — it’s fight or flight. I chose to fight.”
The 33-year-old father added, “I went head-on with a gunman and by the grace of God, took the gun out his hand. So why am I not looked at as a hero? Why am I not praised like ‘wow this guy did something heroic’? Instead, the media paints you like he’s coming in the club shooting all crazy. That’s not true, I was coming out of a room. I was already in the club. I was supposed to be there. I was the special invited guest to perform, but they made it look like I just came in doing sh*t.”
Troy Ave was shot in the leg during the melee within Irving Plaza. Maggie Carrie was also wounded in the venue that night. The model/bartender was struck in the leg and had to undergo physical therapy to recover from the injury.
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