Rapper Troy Ave freed on $500G bond as authorities continue to investigate fatal shooting

Rapper Troy Ave was freed Monday on a $500,000 bond secured by his mother’s Brooklyn home — but he won’t be returning to the concert stage any time soon.

The performer, whose real name is Roland Collins, is charged with attempted murder, weapons possession and other counts after a deadly shooting at a T.I. concert at Irving Plaza on May 25.
Collins’ bodyguard and boyhood pal Ronald McPhatter was killed. Collins denies he was the one who fired the bullet that killed his friend.

Collins was shot in the leg — and was again brought into the courtroom Monday handcuffed to a wheelchair.
After weeks in custody being held without bail, prosecutors consented to his release on the half-million dollars.

He’s required to wear an ankle bracelet and cannot leave the city, a request made by Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass and approved by Justice Ronald Zweibel.
In an unusual requirement, Collins was also ordered to stay away from all concert halls, bars, arenas and other performance venues.

The order essentially handcuffs his career while the case is pending and he will be missing a number of shows he was contracted to perform at, his attorney John Stella said.
Steinglass told the judge the circumstances surrounding McPhatter’s death are still under investigation but made clear that Collins has not been ruled out as a murder suspect.

“What is clear is that the investigation from the outset has been hampered by the defendant who not only fired and removed the weapon from the crime scene, he refused to help in any way (to identify) who killed McPhatter,” Steinglass said.

He later clarified that it is still unclear if Collins, who was seen on video firing a weapon, is the lone shooter or if another person is involved.
“That’s not suggesting those are two separate people. It may well be the same person,” Steinglass said.
Stella has argued that Collins wrestled the gun away from the man who killed McPhatter and fired back in self-defense.

“We feel that we have a case to present that’s ultimately going to exonerate him and indicate that his actions were justified,” Stella told reporters outside the courtroom.
Stella and a family member supported Collins as he left the wheelchair and limped from the holding area to the elevators with his family.

His mother snapped at reporters who boarded the same elevator as her son and other relatives and blocked the door while throwing a fit until court staff arrived.

“No comment,” she said later. “Respect people’s privacy. How about that?”
Collins had Givenchy Paris slides on his feet and a matching hoodie draped around his shoulders.
He was helped into a cream-colored Mercedes SUV with music blaring outside the courthouse.
The terms of his bail also bar him from visiting his two young children in New Jersey, his lawyer said.