According to VladTV sources, the final arguments are being made in Taxstone's trial today (March 21), with deliberations to follow. He is being tried on murder, attempted murder, assault, and weapons possession charges.
The trial has been highly publicized, including when rapper Troy Ave took the stand and claimed that he wrestled with Taxstone over the gun that fatally shot Troy Ave's bodyguard, Ronald "Banga" McPhatter in 2016 at Irving Plaza.
Troy Ave stated on the stand, "If it’s fight or flight I’m always going to fight because at that point you could die. 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."
Troy Ave went on to tell jurors that Taxstone shot him in both of his legs during the ordeal. Troy Ave then detailed how he got off of the ground and get his hands on the gun, which misfired as he was aiming at Taxstone. It was at that point that Troy Ave noticed McPhatter lying face down on the ground, and McPhatter would be pronounced dead in the Irving Plaza aftermath.
Troy Ave was initially arrested for attempted murder, but the charges were dropped after Taxstone's DNA was found on the trigger of the gun in question. While he was originally facing 15 years in prison, Troy Ave negotiated a one-year sentence if he agreed to testify at Taxstone’s trial.
We'll be sure to update you as more information is available.
