A 12-year-old rapper facing felony charges after his run-in with Georgia authorities last fall was back in court on Feb. 26, where his lawyers denied the accusations against him.
Corey Jackson, better known by his stage name “Lil C-Note,” is charged with disorderly conduct with violence, criminal trespassing and obstruction, according to local station CBS 46. The young rapper was in town from Mississippi, where he lives, visiting family when he was confronted and threatened with arrest inside the Cumberland Mall food court after repeated warnings from police not to sell his mixtape.
Corey Jackson, 12, said he is just “ready for this to be over” and called for video from the Georgia officer’s body camera to be released. (CBS 46 / video screenshot)
According to authorities, Jackson has been in trouble twice for allegedly selling CDs at the metro Atlanta mall. The boy’s lawyer, Mawuli Davis, insists his client is innocent, however.
“When he was there, he was not selling any CDs or doing anything that would have been prohibited,” Davis said on the day of the court appearance. “He was there meeting other artists.”
The aspiring rap star said he’s now terrified of police after the Oct. 6 incident where an unnamed officer grabbed him by the arm and threatened to throw him in jail. Jackson’s aunt, Coraletha Jackson, captured a portion of the incident on video.
“You’re 12?” the officer asks the child. “You’re about to go to jail. You’re going to go to a youth detention center if you don’t stop.”
“He’s not doing anything,” Coraletha protests in her nephew’s defense. “He has his rights. I have his father on the phone and you won’t even speak to him.”
“Yup,” the cop replies smugly.
Jackson has posted about his brush with police on social media several times since the incident. In an interview with CBS 46 posted to Instagram, the young musician called the charges “mind-blowing.”
“It swept me off my feet,” he told the station. “I know that I didn’t do anything wrong.”
In a separate caption, Jackson accused police of making false allegations against him and treating him as if he was a “robber, killer [or] murderer” of some sort.
“Seriously like I really wake up everyday asking myself why would this police officer tell these Ludacris /ridiculous stories on me that now have me having to go to court facing a felony at 12 years old as if I’m really a robber, killer / Murderer or some kid that cuss out and fight police officers or sum!!🤷🏾♂️” he wrote. “I wish they just hurry up with this and release all cameras especially the police officer body cam that he had on. #ReadyForThisToBeOver”
CBS 46 reported that Davis said he hopes the charges against his young client will be thrown out completely. The nature of the Feb. 26 hearing and any rulings or filings from the proceeding remain unreported at this time.
Watch more in the video below.