On Monday (March 13), Troy Ave testified at Taxstone’s murder trial, where he recalled the shootout at T.I’s 2016 Irving Plaza concert where he was set to perform as the opening act.
The rapper, née Roland Collins, recalled using his gun in self-defense after Tax fired off rounds first, the New York Post reports.
“If it’s fight or flight I’m always going to fight because at that point you could die,” Ave said. “I’d rather die fighting. People die from leg shots. I’d rather die fighting than laying on the ground. When the shot goes off I see the light from the spark and I hear the shot.
“This is all happening fast. I get up and start fighting Taxstone, trying to take him, grab the gun, and another shot goes off. I put my leg up to kind of block the shot from hitting me in the face or chest.”
As the Brownsville, NY native put his leg up, he details this is when the podcaster, legally known as Daryl Campbell, shot him in both legs. Collins, 37, then wrestled the gun from Campbell’s possession when the gun suddenly misfired. Collins recalls looking over at his bodyguard, Ronald “Banga” McPhatter, after the gun went off and saw him lifeless. McPhatter would be pronounced dead in the Irving Plaza aftermath.
After the initial incident, Troy was charged with attempted murder and gun possession and looked at 15 years in prison. However, the “Ice T” artist’s legal team negotiated a one-year sentence if he agreed to testify at Taxstone’s trial.
Campbell was charged in 2017 after local authorities discovered his DNA on the gun utilized in the fatal shooting. The internet celebrity is facing murder, assault, attempted murder, and weapons possession charges.
Before the incident, Troy Ave and Taxstone were embroiled in a storied beef that came to a head when both parties attended the venue in 2016.