The man charged with the murder of Migos rapper Takeoff was released from jail on Wednesday (January 5) after his $1million bond was posted.
Rolling Stone has reported that Patrick Clark secured the bond on January 4 following a December 28 hearing that saw Clark’s team arguing that the bond – already reduced from the original $2million figure ordered by the court – was “excessive”. Clark posted bail after the judge denied his team’s attempts to have the amount lowered to $300,000 despite being able to appeal again.
As part of the terms of his bail, Clark must remain under house arrest and must wear a GPS monitoring device at all times. He is also not allowed to communicate with anyone connected to the case, including music executive J Prince and Takeoff’s family, TMZ reports.
Clark’s attorney Letitia Quinones has since released a statement to CNN that claims, “Neither Patrick nor his family posted the bond in this case. A concerned citizen and family friend who believes in Patrick’s innocence posted the bond on his behalf.” Quinones also shared that Clark “intends to comply fully” with the court’s terms for his bail promising to “appear for proceedings whenever the court requires him to do so.”
“We believe Patrick is innocent and at the appropriate time, the evidence will reveal that to be the case,” she concluded.
Clark, 33, had allegedly looked up how to secure fake plane tickets to flee the US before being arrested on December 1. He has since denied the claims and has denied that he shot Takeoff, with police identifying him through the use of shooting reconstruction and ballistics evidence, as well as mobile phone and surveillance video footage.
Takeoff (real name Kirsnick Khari Ball) was killed on November 1, 2022 in what Houston police said was a “lucrative” game of dice outside a bowling alley at around 2.30am. The police have said that the rapper was not involved and was “an innocent bystander”. Takeoff was pronounced dead at the scene, having suffered a gunshot wound to the head or neck. He was 28 years old.
Migos bandmate (and Takeoff’s real-life uncle) Quavo paid tribute to Takeoff in a new song called ‘Without You’ released yesterday. Its emotional lyrics include the lines “I wish I had a time machine/ Just so you take a ride with me/ I miss just how you smile at me/ Unc & Phew until infinity”. The third member of Migos and Takeoff’s cousin Offset has also been open about his struggles coping with Takeoff’s passing, writing in a December 21 Instagram post that it’s “not easy” to keep going in the aftermath of Takeoff’s death.