Lil Tjay Update: Rapper's Shooter Will Remain In Prison Despite His Attorney's Arguments

Lil Tjay's shooter, Mohammed Konate, will remain in prison despite his lawyer's argument that there were no weapons linking him to the non-fatal shooting of the American rapper in Edgewater.

NorthJersey.com reported that Konate went before Bergen County Superior Court Judge James Sattely, on Tuesday, to determine if he would be released.

Michael Ashley, Konate's attorney, said that three weapons were discovered in the Dodge Durango in which the three men were sitting during the alleged robbery, and none of them had Konate's fingerprints. Furthermore, the lawyer said, while DNA was discovered on one of the weapons, the prosecution did not assert that it was Konate's DNA.

"Furthermore, I would say that even a circumstantial case that there is some evidence that Mr. Konate may or may not have been present at the scene does not amount to evidence that the alleged robber or Konate himself ever discharged the weapon," Ashley added. The attorney also claims there is no proof the suspected robber did anything more than point his gun.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Fitzpatrick agreed that the existing evidence in the case is circumstantial, but the state's investigation indicates that Konate received five bullet wounds outside the place where the other two people were shot. Konate's phone records and surveillance video, according to Fitzpatrick, show him outside a motel near where the incident occurred.

Ashley also claims that none of the witnesses on whom the state relies saw the shooting or that the suspected robber fired his gun. He questioned the credibility of Boyd and Tjay's other acquaintance, Jeffrey Valdez, as well as their statements to the police.

He said that Boyd's statement was obtained while he was in the hospital after being shot, that it was not taken under oath and that his mental condition at the time of the interview was "questionable at best."

Ashley described Valdez's statement as "interesting" because it appears to provide quite "mixed perspectives" of what happened. He also mentioned that Valdez allegedly told authorities that he had been on drugs since being released from prison for possessing a handgun 30 days earlier.

Ashley, during his interrogation with the prosecutor's office, said Valdez could be heard speaking to an unknown third party.

Konate has seven days to file an appeal against Sattely's decision. Meanwhile, Boyd and Valdez were also arrested on firearms charges following the incident.

For starters, Mohammed Konate has been charged with attempted murder, attempted robbery, and firearms charges following a shooting incident outside a mall in the early hours of June 22.

Konate is accused of approaching the rapper and his companions in their van, waving a gun at them, and demanding they hand over their jewelry. Fitzpatrick said Konate was forced inside a white BMW by an unidentified accused co-conspirator after he was shot.

Konate was detained hours later in a New York City hospital after suffering five gunshot wounds. Lil Tjay and one of his buddies, Antoine Boyd, were injured in the shooting.