Grand jury indicts Houston-area man for murder in the killing of Migos rapper Takeoff

A grand jury in Harris County, Texas, indicted a man suspected of killing rapper Takeoff on a murder charge on Thursday.

Patrick Xavier Clark is accused of shooting and killing the Migos member, whose real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, on Nov. 1 outside a Houston bowling alley, the grand jury said, according to court documents reviewed by The Times.

Clark, a 33-year-old DJ and nightclub promoter, was arrested by Houston police in December and has been out on a $1-million bond, court records said. He is under house arrest awaiting his next hearing, set for August.

Letitia Quinones-Hollins, one of Clark’s attorneys, told the Associated Press that the indictment was not unexpected.

“When we get inside a courtroom and in front of a jury, where we will be able to put on our evidence and cross-examine the state’s witnesses … we expect the jury will come back with a verdict of not guilty,” Quinones-Hollins said Thursday in a statement.

Homicide detectives with the Houston Police Department previously said that video surveillance, cellphone video and audio, physical and ballistic evidence and shooting reconstruction led to Clark’s arrest.

Takeoff was “an innocent bystander” who was “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” police said. The Atlanta rapper had been in a crowd, leaving a private party at the bowling alley, when he was shot in the head and torso. Takeoff was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 28.

The gunshots came after a “lucrative dice game” at the event spilled outside, where an argument took place, according to investigators. Takeoff was involved in neither the dice game nor the argument outside and was not armed.

Takeoff was one of three members of the Atlanta-based hip-hop Migos, along with his uncle Quavo, 32, and friend Offset, 31. The Grammy-nominated group is known for hits such as “Walk It Talk It,” “Stir Fry” and “Bad and Boujee.” A month before Takeoff died, he and Quavo released an album, “Only Built for Infinity Links,” under the name Unc & Phew — short for uncle and nephew.

His death reverberated around the hip-hop world, with tributes from fellow artists pouring in for the rapper. Quavo gave a tribute performance of a song written for his late nephew, “Without You,” at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Amid news of the indictment, Cardi B, who is married to Offset, shared her own message about Takeoff on Thursday.

“What a angel god blessed this earth with,” the “I Like It” performer wrote on her Instagram story. “Protect your brothers and your family. I know you see the tears. I know you see them looking at the sky askin why — what a beautiful soul to take.”

Times staff writers Nardine Saad and Kenan Draughorne contributed to this report.