DaBaby’s attorneys are speaking out after Rolling Stone published a Walmart surveillance video on Sunday (April 24) that allegedly cast doubt on the rapper’s self-defense claim in the 2018 murder of Jaylin Craig.
According to TMZ, lawyers Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg said the clip was reviewed by prosecutors in 2018 and fully supports the self-defense theory. A Mecklenburg County judge also reviewed the footage in connection with a misdemeanor charge for not having the proper permits for his gun and came to the same conclusion.
“Witnesses were interviewed and corroborated Mr. Kirk’s [DaBaby] statement,” they said. “The entirety of the surveillance video was viewed and determined to corroborate Mr. Kirk’s statement … Mr. Kirk was protecting himself and his family at the time of the shooting.”
DaBaby shot and killed 19-year-old Jaylin Craig in 2018, a shooting the rapper claims was in self-defense.
New security footage obtained by Rolling Stone shows that DaBaby appears to be the aggressor, and contradicts key aspects of his version of events. https://t.co/TGZjJ0Da6opic.twitter.com/M7kbKur3U9
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 25, 2022
DaBaby claimed he shot the 19-year-old Craig in self-defense after a chance encounter at a Charlotte-area Walmart. The Interscope Records artist explained at the time Craig and another teen had approached him, his then-girlfriend Mariah Osborne and two children and drew his gun, forcing him to draw his and fire.
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In the clip, Craig reaches into the waist of his pants as if he’s going to draw a weapon but then changes his mind. While Craig’s friend Henry Douglas said he never saw Craig draw a weapon, DaBaby told police they saw Craig pull a gun out he was fighting with Douglas.
Previously Unreleased Video Casts Doubt On DaBaby's Self-Defense Claim In 2018 Walmart Murder
He also said he heard DaBaby’s girlfriend yelling, “He got a gun, he got a gun.” Because there were multiple witnesses who said they saw Craig with a gun, prosecutors couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt DaBaby didn’t act in self-defense.
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Shortly after the video started making the rounds, DaBaby defended himself on social media, writing, “The n-ggas preying on me can’t fuck wit the people praying for me!” He added, “Man, $13,000 a month. What more do you want more from me?! Oh my God! No disrespect to my boy Tyrese man [crying face emoji] but what y’all n-ggas got goin on bruh. #WhatMoreDoYouWANTfromMEEEEE ? Somebody behind the scenes on my ass ain’t it?”
