A man convicted in the killing of rapper Pop Smoke has been sentenced to jail for fentanyl possession when he was serving time in a Los Angeles County juvenile detention facility.
Deijae Devon Jester, 21, was convicted as a juvenile in the Brooklyn-born rapper’s February 2020 shooting death. Jester, 15 at the time, admitted a first-degree murder charge in 2023 stemming from the killing of Pop Smoke, whose real name was Bashar Jackson, an an allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm during the crime. He also admitted a home-invasion robbery count.
The Sylmar resident pleaded no contest in June to one felony count each of possession for sale of a controlled substance, bringing contraband into a jail and bringing or sending contraband into a juvenile hall or camp. He was sentenced Thursday to four years in county jail for the drug offense.
Jester’s mother, Nickia Tyonia Randall, is also facing the same charges for allegedly attempting to pass two latex balls to her son that contained fentanyl pills while visiting him Dec. 14, 2025 at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, according to the District Attorney’s Office. One of the balls was recovered and contained 25 fentanyl pills, authorities said.
“Deijae Jester committed a devastating crime when he took the life of Pop Smoke. Because he was a juvenile, the law afforded him an opportunity for redemption. Instead of embracing that opportunity, he chose to traffic one of the deadliest drugs imaginable from inside a juvenile detention facility,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “He was given the chance at rehabilitation by serving seven years in a juvenile hall but he chose to smuggle in fentanyl. Now he faces multiple years in county jail. If you continue to commit serious crimes after being given a second chance, this office will hold you fully accountable. I hope others take notice before making the same destructive choices.”
The 20-year-old rapper was killed on Feb. 19, 2020 at a rented home where he was staying while on a four-day trip to Los Angeles. The robbers knew the address because a day earlier, Jackson had posted a photograph on social media of a gift bag he had received and the address was on a label, authorities said.
The attackers stole Jackson’s diamond-studded Rolex watch and sold it for $2,000, a detective testified.
Pop Smoke arrived on the rap scene in 2018 and broke out with “Welcome to the Party” a gangsta anthem with boasts about shootings, killings and drugs that became a huge sensation, and prompted Nicki Minaj to drop a verse on a remix.
He had several other hits, including the album “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon,” which was released posthumously.