Takeoff Murder
Patrick Clark must remain under house arrest and wear a GPS monitoring device ahead of the murder trial
Patrick Clark, the man accused of murdering Migos rapper Takeoff, was released from jail Wednesday after posting a $1 million bond.
During a Dec. 28 hearing, Clark’s legal team argued against the “excessive” bail, which was reduced to $1 million after an initial $2 million was first ordered; the judge in the case denied a further reduction to $300,000.
While Clark’s lawyers – who said their client couldn’t afford the bail – could have appealed the amount again, KHOU reports that Clark instead posted the $1 million bond, securing his release from Harris County Jail until his murder trial begins.
TMZ adds that, as part of his bail conditions, Clark must remain under house arrest and wear a GPS monitoring device, as well as not have any communication with anyone involved in the murder, including Takeoff’s family and Houston-based music exec J Prince.
The 33-year-old Clark has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges against him. Part of the reason the judge initially handed down the large $2 million bond is that, at the time of his arrest, prosecutors believed that Clark was attempting to leave for Mexico after getting an expedited passport and acquiring a “large amount” of money. However, Clark’s lawyer Letitia Quinones said her client “wasn’t trying to go anywhere.”
Clark was arrested based on reviewed video evidence of the Nov. 1, 2022, shooting outside a Houston bowling alley that showed he was the only person whose physical positioning aligned with the angle at which Takeoff was struck before collapsing to the ground. Clark was holding a wine bottle at the time of the incident and left it at the crime scene, which allowed authorities to match his fingerprints.