Patrick Clark, accused killer of TakeOff, appeared in court yesterday maintaining his innocence and claiming his actions were taken in self-defense.
The shooting occurred last year outside of 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston, Texas. Police have reported that the shooting ensued after a “lucrative” dice game became violent. It is believed by police that TakeOff was likely an innocent bystander in the altercation. After the death of TakeOff on November 1st 2022, Patrick Clark was arrested in December of 2022 after police re-created the incident through video accounts and ballistic evidence.
When Clark was first arrested, he was being held on a $2 million bond until his team argued the amount unconstitutional since he wouldn’t be able to afford it. The court accepted this complaint and lowered the bond the $1 million; although Clark’s attorneys tried to continue to lower the bond, it remained at $1 million due to Clark having previously made statements while using the jail phone that indicate he had enough money.
Once Clark was released on the $1 million bond, he had to wear an ankle monitor and remain on house arrest at his parents’ house in Houston, TX. Clark was also instructed not to contact TakeOff’s family.
Letitia Quinones-Hollins, Clark’s defense attorney, told Rolling Stone magazine that “[Clark] maintains his innocence. We do believe that he has a valid self-defense claim. I don’t think they can say with any degree of certainty that it was Patrick who actually fired the shot that took TakeOff’s life.” She continued to explain their self-defense claims, telling reporters: “There was someone else who started the shooting, it was not Patrick Clark. He was in the same position that TakeOff was in, he was trying to get out of there alive as well. He didn’t have anything to do with the argument that occurred. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when people started firing weapons.”
This past May, Clark was indicted by a grand jury on murder charges of the shooting death of TakeOff. As of now, Clark’s next court date will not take place until early 2024. His defense attorney believes this means that the trial will likely not begin until the second half of 2024.