Ksoo’s attorney Christopher DeCoste said the state was “tailoring” evidence to build their case against the Jacksonville rapper.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “He’s not living that life!” claimed Jacksonville rapper Ksoo’s lawyer Christopher DeCoste on Thursday during the closing statements of the rapper’s murder trial.
The rapper, whose real name is Hakeem Robinson, faced charges for the murder of Charles McCormick in January 2020. DeCoste asserted this statement to counter the prosecution’s claim that Robinson was involved in the killing as retaliation for McCormick insulting Robinson’s stepbrother Willie Addison in a song.
“Look, I don’t condone it, I’m not a drill rap fan,” DeCoste stated. “It sells records, it gets followers. But, his adoption of the lifestyle of those around him in his capacity as an artist doesn’t imply that he’s responsible for the act.”
DeCoste argued that the state was “tailoring” evidence to build their case against Robinson, further suggesting they relied on “desperate snitches,” referencing Dominique Barner and Robinson’s father, Abdul Robinson Sr., also known as “Blue.”
Barner and Robinson Sr., who were also charged in McCormick’s murder, were mandated to testify in the trial as part of plea deals with the state, in exchange for potential reduced sentences in this case and another unrelated one.
DeCoste pointed out that Robinson Sr. and Barner provided differing stories in the separate pending murder case they’re involved in during their testimonies, yet the state depended on them for their honesty in McCormick’s case.
“You have no idea who is telling the truth,” DeCoste said to the jury. “But, they want to put them up, they want yo–u to trust these people, that they’re pillars of truth.”
DeCoste also concentrated on the discrepancy of the shooter’s height and weight, arguing that witnesses and officers described the shooter as short and skinny, in contrary to what he described Robinson as much more heavy-set and taller.
DeCoste further argued that prosecutors failed to call other witnesses who, he said, would have contradicted the state’s claim that Robinson’s height is 6′.
“It’s as if the government is trying to blur the lines,” DeCoste said. “They are trying to shrink Hakeem Robinson.”
DeCoste also brought up that bodycam footage was not presented by the state from the officer who engaged in the subsequent police chase following the murder.
“Where’s Officer Collins’ bodycam, which would’ve shown who he was chasing?” DeCoste asked.
On the fact that a forensic expert testified saying Robinson’s DNA was found inside the getaway car connected to the murder, DeCoste said: “He was friends with these people.”
And on a point about Robinson posting to his Instagram following the murder, allegedly bragging about it in a picture at a pedicure, DeCoste said: “The only person who would do that would be someone who is confidently innocent.”
DeCoste also accused the lead investigator in the case of focusing the investigation solely on Robinson as the prime suspect, saying that police targeted Robinson because he was an up and coming Black rapper.
During the state’s rebuttal, Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi said “that’s not true,” pointing out that the lead detective is a Black man himself and that he “poured his life into this case.”
Watch DeCoste’s full closing arguments below; the state’s rebuttal is also embedded below.
