*Deijae Jester, who killed Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke at age 15, has received a four-year sentence after pleading no contest in a fentanyl case involving his own mother — a new conviction that carries particular weight because his punishment for murder was imposed entirely through California’s juvenile system.
Jester, now 21, pleaded no contest to felony charges involving possession for sale of a controlled substance and bringing contraband into a detention facility, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The case stems from a December 2025 visit to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall. Prosecutors allege Jester’s mother, Nickia Tyonia Randall, attempted to pass him two latex balls containing fentanyl pills. Authorities recovered one containing 25 pills.
Randall has also been charged. Her case remains pending, and the allegations against her have not been adjudicated.
What Happened to Jester After He Killed Pop Smoke?
That’s the question readers could understandably have after seeing another four-year sentence attached to the man who killed a 20-year-old rising rap star.
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Jester did not receive a conventional adult prison sentence for Pop Smoke’s murder.
In 2023, he admitted in juvenile court to first-degree murder, home-invasion robbery and personally and intentionally firing the gun. Because Jester was 15 when the crime occurred, his case remained in California’s juvenile system.
The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that Jester was expected to remain in a state juvenile facility until he turned 25.
That did not mean he would automatically be retried or resentenced as an adult for Pop Smoke’s murder when he reached 25. His murder case had already been adjudicated in juvenile court. Once the applicable juvenile jurisdiction ended, the Pop Smoke case itself wasn’t waiting to transform into an adult murder sentence.
That makes his latest conviction a major turn: Jester committed a new offense as an adult while still housed in the juvenile system.
From Pop Smoke’s Murder to Fentanyl
Pop Smoke, born Bashar Barakah Jackson, was killed during a Feb. 19, 2020 home-invasion robbery at a Hollywood Hills rental.
Investigators testified that Jester and others confronted the rapper while he was showering. Jester pistol-whipped Pop Smoke and shot him three times in the back after the rapper fought back. The group stole his diamond-encrusted watch and later sold it for $2,000.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says Jester’s treatment as a juvenile gave him an opportunity for rehabilitation.
“Because he was a juvenile, the law afforded him an opportunity for redemption,” Hochman said. Instead, the DA said, Jester chose to traffic fentanyl while incarcerated.
He Reportedly Met His Mother While Locked Up
The latest case also exposes an extraordinary family history.
Detailed reporting by the Los Angeles Times cites a sentencing memorandum from defense attorney Theida Salazar stating that Jester met his mother while incarcerated at Barry J. Nidorf.
Randall reportedly gave birth to Jester while she herself was jailed on homicide charges. Jester was then raised by his paternal grandmother.
“Deijae was literally set up for failure,” Salazar wrote.
Randall was released from prison in 2021 after serving a lengthy sentence. By then, her son was incarcerated for Pop Smoke’s killing.
Now prosecutors allege mother and son coordinated the fentanyl scheme that resulted in Jester’s latest conviction.
An Overdose, Then Another Chance Lost
Investigators said Jester had already been involved in multiple narcotics-related incidents while incarcerated, including an overdose that required staff to revive him with Narcan.
Prosecutors argued the 25 fentanyl-laced pills weren’t simply for his personal use. At sentencing, Judge P. Tamu Usher found that the operation involved planning and was intended to supply other incarcerated youths.
Prosecutors requested five years. Jester’s defense pointed to his high school diploma, his difficult childhood, rehabilitation efforts and the fact that he is now a father.
Usher imposed four years.
There is one discrepancy in the public record: the DA’s announcement describes the punishment as county jail, while the Times, which covered the sentencing, reports that Usher sentenced Jester to four years in state prison.
Either way, this isn’t additional punishment for killing Pop Smoke. It stems from a new crime committed after Jester reached adulthood.
That’s what makes the trajectory so remarkable: a child born while his mother was incarcerated, raised by his grandmother, convicted of killing Pop Smoke at 15 and given a juvenile path that could have ended by 25 — only to acquire a new adult conviction before getting there.
The fentanyl case tells us what happened next.
The family history leaves the harder question of how the cycle began.
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