Reports say that a wine bottle actually helped police catch Takeoff's killer. The New York Times obtained an affidavit which revealed more details about the Takeoff murder investigation. According to reporter Joe Coscarelli, the affidavit said that cops found the fingerprints of Takeoff’s alleged killer Patrick Xavier Clark on a wine bottle left near the scene of the crime. Clark was in possession of the bottle at the time of the shooting.
The affidavit read, “During the actual shooting, Clark was holding a wine bottle in one hand while he discharged the firearm with the other. Immediately after the shooting, Clark ran over by the House of Blues, where he set the wine bottle down and never came back for it.”
Police collected the bottle during their initial investigation. Forensic analysis revealed Clark’s fingerprints on the item.
The affidavit included information from a man named Willie Bland, who’s identified as an associate of Quavo. Bland said he was part of a group that included Takeoff and Quavo, who were visiting Jas Prince in Houston.
Quavo got into an argument with Michael Prince, Cameron Joshua and Christopher Watkins over a dice game at a bowling alley. Bland said he saw Joshua and Watkins with guns at the bowling alley and a local gym earlier in the day
Bland “believed Joshua said something and began pulling a gun” when Quavo turned and walked away from the argument. The Quavo associate reacted by punching Joshua, assuming the armed men were trying to rob Quavo. Takeoff wasn’t involved in the altercation.
That's when gunfire erupted as Bland believed Joshua was shooting at him. Bland admitted he started shooting at Joshua.
Police didn’t find video evidence of Joshua shooting a gun. But they also determined Bland didn’t shoot Takeoff or the surviving victims based on the angles and injuries suffered. This is when authorities zeroed in on Clark as the gunman who shot and killed Takeoff.
Clark was arrested and charged with murder on December 1st. He remains in custody after a judge set his bond at $2 million.
In other news, a judge granted Clark $5,000 to hire a private investigator. Last month, Clark made the request to the judge after claiming his innocence, saying that he wanted to find out who was really responsible for killing Takeoff.