Moka Blast, the manager for Love After Lockup and Life After Lockup rapper Montana Millz, reportedly shot and killed a man at his Las Vegas home on Wednesday — while in the middle of a live interview!
Michael Persaud (aka Montana Millz) tipped off fans of the show that Moka (real name Lydell Birch) was in some legal trouble when he shared a photo of himself and Moka in his Instagram stories and wrote: “Free Moka Blast #SelfDefense.”
He also posted a brief clip from a live interview with Moka that ended abruptly as Moka rushed to get up and respond to the unexpected presence of another person. “Free Moka Blast,” Michael wrote on that post. “I’m glad you ok my brother #selfdefense.”
UPDATE – Michael shared this statement on Instagram:
For those who think this sh*t is a game @mokablast was attacked on a Live interview last night where he was forced to draw his weapon, shoot and kill the intruder #FreeMokaBlast #SelfDefense
Multiple outlets have tied the alleged Moka incident to a shooting that occurred in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The shooting happened on the same block as Moka’s reported residence. Here is a photo of the crime scene and a photo of the Las Vegas house where Moka reportedly lives:
The scene near the 700 block of Bloomingfield Lane where a homicide investigation is ongoing. #RJNow https://t.co/65qYwyKDR4 pic.twitter.com/9hVfsLJVkd
— David Wilson (@davidwilson_RJ) April 13, 2023
There are numerous local news reports about the shooting, but all of them appear to be based entirely on the information provided in a press conference conducted on the scene by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jason Johansson.
In brief, there was a woman and a man involved in an altercation in front of a house. The man took a bat out of a trunk and started smashing cars parked in the driveway. He kicked in the door to the house and was shot by the woman’s boyfriend in the back yard. The victim was pronounced dead when the medical team arrived.
Here is a video of the press conference, followed by a full transcript:
“Earlier this evening, at approximately 6:42PM, officers…were dispatched to a report of a shooting that occurred inside a residence at the 700 block of Bloomingfield.
“The initial details — the caller indicated that her boyfriend had shot a male inside the residence. As officers arrived on scene, they located a female in front of the driveway, along with two juveniles.
“During their initial conversations with her, she indicated that her boyfriend was still inside the residence. Officers then formed an arrest team. They went in the house. They made contact with the boyfriend, who was taken into custody without incident.
“During their initial contact with him, he indicated that there was a male that he shot that was inside the back yard.
“Officers then cleared the rest of the residence, went into the back yard where they did locate a black male who had been shot. They then began to provide medical aide until medical arrived, and unfortunately pronounced him deceased here on scene.
“Homicide is here. We are conducting our investigation. Based on preliminary details, we know the following:
“We know that prior to the shooting, the female who lives at the residence was involved in an altercation with our deceased male in front of the residence.
“That during that altercation, the male removed a bat from the back trunk area of a vehicle and began to hit several of the vehicles that are parked in the driveway of the residence.
“It is then…that he goes to the front door of the residence. The front door of the residence does appear it was kicked in.
“At some point and time he then makes it to the back yard area of the house, and then that’s when the gun shots occurred.
“Right now we’re still confirming all the information. We’re still on scene conducting our investigation, getting our video surveillance, and interviewing several witnesses in the area.
“Those are the details that we know right now. I urge anyone with any information related to this investigation to please contact the LVPD Homicide Section or reach out through CrimeStoppers Nevada.”
Lt. Johansson then took questions from the reporters who were present. During the Q&A portion of the press conference, it was revealed that the victim was a male in his 40s and the shooter is a male in his 30s. It was also revealed that the two kids were not injured.
In regards to whether or not the woman knew the victim, Lt. Johansson said: “We do believe that she knows him. We are not positive on the relationship at this point and time.”
Lt. Johansson adds that the incident appears to be isolated. “This is not a random act of violence. These parties obviously knew one another, in my opinion.”
One reporter asked if the shooting appeared to be a case of self defense. “I think right now it’s too early to give a definitive answer on where that currently stands. Obviously, it does appear that there is a justified aspect of this, but our investigation still needs to confirm that.”
Moka’s live interview during the shooting?
At the time of the shooting, Moka was doing a live interview with Lawd Lukan. In the video, you can hear some distant banging noises and see Moka react. Then, Moka jumps up abruptly and appears to draw a firearm as he yells at another person.
You can make out the person’s head in the reflection from the mounted television that was behind Moka during the interview:
And Moka appearing to draw a gun:
Here is the interview, cued up to a few minutes before it ended abruptly so you can hear the noises as well:
There have been no further public updates on the investigation. Word On The Street Reality spoke with a Clark County Detention Center representative and was informed that Moka was not under arrest at the time. “He is still in the interrogation/interview process with detectives,” WOTSR reported.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
