Daryl “Taxstone” Campbell, host of the hip-hop podcast “Tax Season,” has been sentenced to 35 Years in prison for his role in a 2016 shooting at a T.I. concert at Irving Plaza in New York City. Campbell was found to have shot four people, injuring three—including the rapper Troy Ave—and killing Ronald “Banga” McPhatter, Troy Ave’s bodyguard. “That sentence was shameful,” said Campbell’s attorney Kenneth Montgomery, adding that his client plans to appeal.
Prosecutors argued that Campbell and Troy Ave had a longstanding feud that led to a confrontation in the green room at Irving Plaza before Troy Ave’s set; Campbell pulled out a gun and shot McPhatter in the chest, then struggled with Troy Ave for control of the gun, shooting him in both legs and hitting two other bystanders in the process.
“Daryl Campbell used a firearm to target his rival, which led to loss of a life and serious injuries to innocent bystanders,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. said in a statement. “Gun violence cannot be used as a way to address conflict. The toll of guns continues to be staggeringly high and it is horrific that a night out at a concert ended tragically.”
Campbell was first arrested in Brooklyn in January 2017 and convicted in this March of one count of manslaughter in the first degree, two counts of assault in the first degree, one count of assault in the second degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Troy Ave, a.k.a. Roland Collins, was arrested in May 2016 in connection to the shooting and charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Shortly after the shooting, Troy Ave sued Irving Plaza and Live Nation, claiming they failed in their duty to protect him as a performer. Two fans also sued the two companies, claiming they were trampled in the chaotic aftermath of the shooting.
