Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. At the time, he was under investigation by L.A.P.D. Thats just lip-service. I wanted to get the information out and move on. Aint this some st?, Poole had urged the LAPD to reopen the case before he died. Russell Woolf's cause of sudden death on Monday, October 25, 2021, at the age of 57, is yet to be announced. There were similarities in the photograph. It was a bunch of games being played. His conclusions are controversial to be sure, but they are so thoroughly researched that theyre hard to ignore. The Notorious B.I.G., was shot to death while sitting in a Chevy Suburban outside of a hip-hop industry party in Los Angeles. Poole's involvement in the Rampart scandal began less than six months before Wallace's murder and a year before Rafael Prez was arrested. He alleges that former LAPD detective Russell Poole planned on apologizing to Suge Knight prior to his passing last year, reported HipHopDx. Internal Affairs for allegedly making false statements on an affidavit in a separate case. And its based on Russell Pooles inability to properly treat a clue. Pooles role in the case is chronicled in the new true crime series Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. The name Amir Muhammad was published in the Los Angeles Times as a suspect in Biggies murder. I didnt make money off the book. . Michelena was then supervising the detective working the case. The case opened the first door to the labyrinth in Pooles life as he tried to solve the riddle, White Guy shoots and kills a Black Guy. Born in Jerome, Idaho to DellaFaye and William (Bill) Poole. Brother, Scott Poole and his wife Kara Poole and nieceAshley Poole of Carmichael, California. Poole was a leading investigator on the killing of Notorious B.I.G. Mack was arrested and convicted of the robbery, per PBS, while Perez made a deal where he pled guilty to the theft but "agreed to provide prosecutors with information" regarding other corrupt police officers. She cant sue saying, You guys screwed this case up and youre a bunch of idiots. Even if its true. Suge always knew who was responsible. Thats as close to justice as these cases will ever see. All I meant to say was that it looked like the guy. [Ed. Russ never went anywhere without ahat. Tonight we get to see @jimmisimpson as Det. Its not active, in the sense that you would think that there are investigators out there trying to figure out clues. I wanted to get the information out and move on. At the time, he was a 36-year old member of the Mob Piru Bloods. Weve spent enough time and money. As soon as he became aware of where Biggie was sitting in his car, he drove up and he shot him.. He was included in a 2001 interview with VH1 in the documentary film Biggie & Tupac released in 2001 by British documentary film maker Nick Broomfield. He was removed from it. ChildrenShaelee Poole, Qwintin Poole, Zac Kane and his wife Kristin Kane and grandsons Enzo Kaneand Dutch Kane, Shad Smith and grandchildren Kemper Smith, Saylor Smith, Shooter Smith,Taylynn Smith, Deanna Brady and grandchildren Austin Brady, Rashell Brady and greatgrandchildren Azeara, Zalan, and Zerik. Perth Radio Host Russell Woolf's Cause of Sudden Death at 57 She cant sue saying, You guys screwed this case up and youre a bunch of idiots. Even if its true, theres no legal basis for incompetence in law enforcement. At the time, he was a 36-year old member of the Mob, It comes down to how you define solved. Thats how frustrated I was. detective, he was in charge of the special task force that investigated Christopher Wallaces murder. Suge Knight doesnt have a pot to piss in. So it just goes to show that they were really never big fans of [Biggie and. The show dedicates much of its runtime to Poole's investigation, but Poole himself did not have a chance to provide his own input. Fatal Attraction Episodes 1 And 2 Recap & Ending, Explained: Did Alex Try To Commit Suicide? As soon as he became aware of where Biggie was sitting in his car, he drove up, and he shot him. They were present when there was criminal activity taking place, including a murder. A fight broke out between this Crip and some of the Bloods that were in Suges circle. Biggie's dri ve -by shooting occurred just six months after his. Pooles theory was that LAPD cops helped orchestrate the murder of Christopher Wallace. His two main suspects were incarcerated officers David Mack and Rafa Perez. Like I said, I read that clue that he relied on. While everyone suspected Frank Lyga, Pooles investigation revealed the third tainted cop in the LAPD who worked for Death Row. LOS ANGELES, Aug. 20 (UPI) --Russell Poole, the retired Los Angeles police officer who publicly contended the LAPD was involved in the death of rapper Biggie Smalls, died suddenly from a suspected . Biggie felt horrible that Tupac had gotten robbed and that Tupac believed that he had been behind it. He also helped Wallaces mother to frame a case against LAPD, but it was tossed. In everything that we saw and read in all the interviews, Biggie was an innocent bystander in this whole thing. Suge Knight ended up going to jail on a probation violation, stemming from the beating of Orlando Anderson [Ed. They were present when there was criminal activity taking place, including a murder. Thats frustrating because these were very solvable cases. Theyre always going to say, Yes, its an open investigation. I quit [the force] over the matter. Weve had heart-to-hearts about that so-called identification of the shooter. Complex caught up with Kading to talk about the results of his investigation, why no arrests have ever been made, and why he believes these cases will never be officially solved. Reports said that Russell Poole, a former Los Angeles police detective, died on Wednesday while interviewing an officer from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department about an unspecified case.. Without confirming any theories, City of Lies solely follows Russell Poole and his obsession with the case. Then he gives all these other descriptions; Hes this Fruit of Islam guy, hes from Compton, and all of these different descriptors of the shooter. When tweeting, don't forget to use the hashtag. Russell Poole was born on 29 November 1956 in La Mirada, California, USA. Poole was told not to look further. Poole was responsible for floating some of the most controversial and unproven theories in the Biggie Smalls death case. responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur, another famous rapper who was hit four times. Ms. So they told us, Solve this case. We will be uploading them throughout 2022 to celebrate 10 years! Thats it. Poole didnt retire but resigned from LAPD and continued his investigation around Wallaces case. Follow my moveson Twitter and Google Plus. While investigating the murder of rap star Notorious B.I.G. However, Vice reports that Poole argued that the chief conspirators were Sharitha Knight and Reggie Wright Jr., head of Death Row Security. Neither has been arrested nor charged with the death, either. Everybody ultimately owes some sincere apologies, at least, to both. These killings remain the worst tragedies in hip-hop history. But when I asked him he completely recanted and said, I didnt mean to say that was the guy. According to Rolling Stone, Poole believed that Knight, with the help of LAPD officer David Mack and another associate, was responsible for B.I.G.s death as retaliation for the murder of Tupac Shakur a year earlier. He also thought that Knight allegedly wanted to avoid paying royalties to Shakur. Perhaps the most in-depth account of Poole's time on the case comes from the book LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates The Murders Of Tupac Shakur And Notorious B.I.G., The Implication Of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, And The Origins Of The Los Angeles Police Scandal. On March 9, 1997, at around 12:30a.m., Wallace, Bad Boy Records CEO Sean Combs, and their entourage left the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards after-party, held at the Petersen Automotive Museum, in two GMC Suburbans to return to his hotel after an announcement was made that the party would finish earlier than planned. They wouldnt want blood on their hands, and particularly, they thought that by outing [Suges girlfriend], Suge might retaliate against her. According to Rolling Stone, he. Russell had thought that all of this evidence pointed to an inside job with Death Row Records, Carlin said, according to HipHopDX. Russell Poole Obituary (2008) - Mishawaka, IN - South Bend Tribune He is featured on the show Unsolved. The guys that were working off-duty for Death Row were highly compromised. Kading is neither a journalist nor a conspiracy theorist. If somebody were to call and say, I have information on the Biggie Smalls murder, investigators would probably entertain an interview with that. Futhermore, some believe Poole was planning to apologize to Suge Knight before Poole died. Video related to russell poole: 5 fast facts you need to know, RUSSELL POOLE WANTED TO APOLOGIZE TO SUGE KNIGHT BEFORE HE DIED SAYS AUTHOR, Subscribe to Youtube Page for the latest interviews! He loved to maintain a beautiful yard often calling on the neighbor kids to ride along onthe mower. The LAPD detective who later led the investigation, Greg Kading, doesnt agree entirely with Pooes accusations. All the clue is, is an Amir. Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/UGSocietyFTI DOWNLOAD ENTIRE EPISODE HERE ugs4life.com/author-of-tupac-187-michael-douglas-carlin-2016-interview/. Amir Muhammad] and says, Thats the guy, its a very dramatic moment in the video. The 1997 shooting death of Christopher Wallace, better known by his pseudonyms Biggie Smalls and The Notorious B.I.G., remains unsolved to this day, but not for a lack of trying on Poole's part. Gaines pulled off a gun on Frank and threatened to shoot him when Frank shot him first in self-defense. They assigned him a new job to investigate cocaine bags disappearing from the evidence room. He looked directly into the eyes of Keefe D, who was in the shooters car. Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan follows Russell Poole, a highly decorated LAPD detective who, in 1997, was called to investigate a controversial cop-on-cop shooting, eventually to discover that the . Investigation of Notorious B.I.G. This guy named R.J. Poole claimed that Suge Knight, head of Death Row Records, was a gang member who played by street rules. Russell Poole who quit in 1999. . She knows that her kids, the community at large, and everybody in the hip-hop community knows that she and, Thats frustrating because these were very solvable cases. Funeral Home website by. He was concerned about Mrs. Wallace and was obsessed with finding the truth. I cultivated a source inside the Sheriff's that provided me with. That claim came from author Michael Douglas Carlin. After graduating Russ worked at Gordon Paving and then spent 27 years in the same office through 3 different companies; Ore-Ida trucking, Jack B Parsons, and AgExpress Inc. Russ grew up in the mini-cassia area of southern Idaho with his two younger brothers. A retired L.A.P.D. Its that simple. Both shooters are deadThats all the justice that these cases will see. They had a very secretive and exclusive relationship. [8] Distraught from the order to end the Mack investigation early and forced retirement, Poole later stated that, "I almost took my life, but it was my kids that actually saved me. Some girls from Houston shot the video. So unfortunatelyand my heart goes out to herthis is as close to justice as we will ever see, in our judicial system. Actor Jimmi Simpson stars as Poole in the series, which airs on the USA Network. I had a very lucrative offer from Random House, and after they legally vetted it, they decided they could not publish it because of what they termed reckless endangerment.. Before being chosen to work in the Robbery-Homicide division in 1996, he spent over nine years as a homicide investigator at the South Bureau and Wilshire Division. Confidential sources from the Death Row entourage, the Mob Pirus, and [Suges girlfriend, identified in Kading's book by the alias "Theresa Swann"], said Poochie had done shootings for Suge in the past. Preceded in death by his parentsDella and Bill Poole. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. [13], Poole was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 2018 film City of Lies.[7]. @jimmisimpson returns to @USA_Network as Detective Russell Poole in #UnsolvedUSA, premiering February 27. pic.twitter.com/X51UVof35N, Unsolved (@UnsolvedUSA) February 19, 2018. Although Poole dedicated much of his efforts to working the rappers death while pursuing work as a private detective, he also was the basis of a book titled LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal. Officer Rafa Perez partnered with D-Mack and committed a bank robbery. At the El Rey theater, during a Death Row after-party, there was a, Remember, all the way back in 2005, Perry Sanders, the Wallace attorney, had already excused David Mack and Harry, After going through all the research in both of these casesand I, Chuck Phillips knew they couldnt really publish the story with the facts of that clue. His fee for murdering the greatest rapper of all time? He was shot in the back while riding his motorcycle in Compton. I've been in this game for years. Interview: Former L.A.P.D. Detective Says He Knows Who Killed The Russell Poole: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com According to several Death Row insiders and FBI informants, Poochie was a down-for-the-cause, hardcore gang member. Otherwise, every person who doesnt like the way an investigation went could sue those departments. While the show is likely more accurate to Kading's version of events because of his direct involvement, Unsolved had to approach Poole's work from the outside. realizes that theres not really a potential for a successful prosecution.. CIA Director, Noam Chomsky Named in Epstein's Private Calendar: Report While many deny the statements disclosed by Sullivan and Poole in the book, director Brad Furman found a story in Pooles controversial plight. In the current timeline, Poole teams up with journalist Darius Jackson (Forest Whitaker) to solve the murder of Notorious B.I.G. The murder of Christopher Wallace and Tupac Shakur remains unsolved. The D.A.s office in Los Angeles has a policy: They dont prosecute murders based on the testimony of one witness, which is now just the girlfriend. What is City of Lies about and is it a true story? | The US Sun in Los Angeles knows that this is an extremely difficult situation to try and prosecute. That circumstantial connection, put this investigator down a rabbit hole. They were outside the party just filming the people walking by and they happened to catch the moment when Biggie was shot. Thats the only thing that has ever been even circumstantially compelling. Biggies name was never, ever mentioned in that clue. In 2018, Jimmi Simpson starred as Poole in Unsolved: Tupac & Biggie, a ten-part series originating on the USA Network, also on Netflix. The co-conspirators are absolutely known and I say that with conviction. Succession Recap: Logan Roy Makes Shock Return, Shiv and Tom Get Kinky, Had wed been able to aggressively investigate [the B.I.G. Is Ella Dead Or Alive. LAPD tried its best to eclipse the matter. When the 22-year veteran saw the case he built being shelved, he became so frustrated that he quit the forcebut not before making copies of his evidence so that he could put all his findings into a book. Pallbearers wheel the casket containing rap star Biggie Smalls to a hearse after the funeral 18 March in New York. 75K views 5 years ago Reggie Wright Jr. and Sr. have been arrested. always knew the problems with Russell Pooles theory. Mack was a frequent visitor at Knight's private parties, and frequently wore the same style and color (red) clothes as Knight and the Bloods gang. was shot to death while . Barry Recap: A Tragic Death Shakes Up Bill Haders Dark Satire Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Founding editor of VIBE who came up in the game. Biggie felt horrible that Tupac had gotten robbed and that Tupac believed that he had been behind it. And incredibly, Poole began to uncover evidence that at least some of these gangsta cops may have been involved in the murders of rap superstars Notorious B.I.G. And those are just the facts. His buddies from Compton P.D.all of the guys that were working in Compton when he was there. The film was released in 2021. However, according to Poole, Rampart was a diversion to hide the sins of LAPD and its association with Death Row or involvement in Wallaces murder. Smalls, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was killed 09 March in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. There was a misreport of a black Impala that was outside the Peterson, that the suspect had apparently driven. The rapper Busta Rhymes raised questions about Pooles death on social media. NoteAnderson is Keefe Ds nephew, also a, paid to kill Biggie. After going through all the research in both of these casesand Ive read it allthere was never any indication whatsoever that Biggie had any idea what happened with Tupac in Las Vegas. Since Poole wasn't able to provide his input to the series, it's unclear how accurate its portrayal of the detective and his work is. According to Rolling Stone, he suffered the heart attack while meeting with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs homicide investigators to discuss a cold case., Poole was rushed to a hospital, where he died, after suffering the heart attack. Russell J. Poole, of Jeannette, went to be with family and friends in heaven, Thursday, July 9, 2021. Russell Poole - Wikipedia Feb. 28, 1927 - Aug. 2, 2008. actually murdered Biggie?The defense is going to try and turn the thing back around. Keefe D was a member of the Southside Crips and a well known person to Suge. Even though the public picked up on it and [author/journalist] Randall Sullivan was running with it, with his book LAbyrinth, and Russell Poole had convinced himself that it was such, the L.A.P.D. His work revealed that off-duty LAPD officers handled security for Death Row, many of whom were dirty cops engaged in criminal mayhem.. Hes so pissed off because we disproved his theory and obviously theres no more money coming in if people arent buying into that theory. I can guarantee you that you will never see criminal prosecution in either of these cases, but Voletta Wallace knows who killed her son. Theyre not out doing anything to further the case because theyve already concluded what happened. Im saying he failed at being objective on this one particular case.. When Russ was young he and his brothers spent time with their dad hunting, fishing andcamping. His theory got confirmed when he found out about Officer Gaines and his association with Death Row. The only thing that Russell Poole has to hold onto is simply four letters: A-M-I-R. Thats it. These off-duty Compton cops were all present and they all left the scene. Russell Poole is no longer around to give his impressions of the series - or the cases. Among those rogue cops, he designated David . And there was nothing. Russell Wayne Poole (November 29, 1956 August 19, 2015) was a Los Angeles Police Department detective who investigated the murder of the Notorious B.I.G., a rapper also known as Biggie Smalls. Blues | FRONTLINE", "Portland Journalist Randall Sullivan Wrote the Book on the Conspiracy to Kill Tupac and Biggie", "Johnny Depp's Notorious B.I.G. The future earning potential of Christopher Wallace would be over a billion at the time of the investigation. recanted and said, 'I made it all up. And he blamed Suge for it. The books description on Amazon says, During his investigation, Poole came to realize that a growing cadre of black officers were allied not only with Death Row, but with the murderous Bloods street gang. Biggie wanted nothing to do with it. He finds one name: A-M-I-R, and builds a whole theory behind that, because theres a dirty-cop who has a friend named Amir. The son of a 27-year L.A. County Sheriff, Poole would "follow in his father's footsteps" and join the LAPD in 1981. murder. Greg Kading is neither a journalist nor a conspiracy theorist. Biggie Smalls Detective -- Dies While Interviewing Cop for - TMZ Trust me, the risk management division and the L.A.P.D. Powered by. Hes broke. in memory of Russell Lee Poole, please visit our floral store. Russell Wayne Poole (1956-2015) - Find a Grave Memorial Russell Poole, Notorious B.I.G. Murder Investigator, Dead Poole also investigated the killing of LAPD Officer Kevin Gaines by LAPD Officer Frank Lyga on March 18, 1997. There is no Amir Muhammad. Seeing the two greatest rappers of a generation cut down in their prime was bad enough. Robbery/Homicide Detective, lead investigator in the Lyga-Gaines shooting. Russ enjoyed spending time with family whether it was on the Snake River or taking atrip to explore new places. All Rights Reserved. Thats the famous video that basically shows the suspect lying in wait and shows the shooting. His investigation into the case spawned conspiracy theories. Actually, Robinson said there was a guy named either Abraham, Ashmir, Amir, Kenny, or Keke. guy, named Richard, The guys that were working off-duty for Death Row were highly compromised. Russell Poole was . I guess they were moderately popular videos with this really ridiculous proposal. All Images property of their respective owners. There was surveillance, out in California, by a task force, that was looking into drug and gun activities, because they were getting ready to indict Biggie and a couple of his friends on some narcotics and some guns that they had found in his house.