UNION SQUARE — Rapper Troy Ave is not facing a murder charge in the fatal shooting of his bodyguard inside Irving Plaza in May, according to court documents.
Troy Ave, whose birth name is Roland Collins, has been indicted in Manhattan Supreme Court on one charge of second degree attempted murder, and four counts of weapons possession in connection to the May 25 shooting that took the life of his childhood friend and bodyguard Ronald McPhatter, 33, according to the indictment.
The indictment does not include a murder charge, despite the fact that investigators believe Troy Ave was the one who fired the fatal shot that hit McPhatter in the stomach, according to sources close to the investigation.
Troy Ave was arrested the day after the shooting, after police released security footage from inside the club that appeared to show Troy Ave firing at least one shot in a crowded second-floor balcony area of the concert hall.
Troy Ave, who was shot in the leg during the gunfire — a self-inflicted wound, according to police sources — was driven to NYU Langone Medical Center in a van, where police later found the gun tied to the shooting, sources told DNAinfo.
The rapper's lawyers, Scott Leemon and John Stella, have disputed the narrative put forward by police and prosecutors, and said the lack of a murder charge in the grand jury indictment shows the evidence supports their client.
“Nothing in this indictment is a surprise or new,” Leemon said. “It’s the same wrong story that NYPD has been trying to portray. The video released does not show everything nor explain what happened in the VIP room before Troy came running out, as a victim, after he was shot.”
According to Stella, the indictment contains no charges linking Troy Ave to the fatal injuries suffered by McPhatter, which Stella said occurred inside the VIP room in which the brawl initially broke out.
“Troy has not been charged with any crimes related to what happened inside the green room,” he said. “He’s charged under the theory that in the video in which he’s depicted that at that moment he intended to kill someone he was aiming at. That doesn’t relate to any of the victims inside the green room.”
Troy Ave is currently being held without bail at Rikers Island and is due back in Manhattan Supreme on June 22, records show. Stella told DNAinfo on June 13 that Collins is having a hard time recovering from his wounds and that he plans to request his release on bail.
A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's office declined to comment.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect Troy Ave's charges as stated in the indictment.
