UPDATE
Apr 6, 2023 6:15 PM CDT
A Florida judge gave the three men convicted of killing rapper XXXTentacion life sentences on Thursday. Prosecutors had not sought the death penalty, so life in prison was the only option available to Broward County Circuit Judge Michael Usan, the AP reports. The defendants displayed little emotion when the sentences were announced, and no reaction from family members in the courtroom was audible.
Mar 20, 2023 1:23 PM CDT
Three men were found guilty Monday of the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000. Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were all found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury that deliberated a little more than seven days, the AP reports. They will receive mandatory life sentences at a later date. During the monthlong trial, prosecutors linked the men to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus cellphone videos they took that showed them flashing fistfuls of $100 bills hours after the slaying.
Prosecutors also had the testimony of a fourth man, Robert Allen, a former friend of the defendants who said he participated in the robbery. He pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder. He has not been sentenced pending the conclusion of this trial. He could get anywhere between time served, meaning he could soon be released, and life, depending partly on how prosecutors perceive his assistance. Defense attorneys accused Allen of being a liar motivated by avoiding a life sentence. They also said prosecutors and detectives did a poor investigation that didn’t look at other possible suspects, including the Canadian rap star Drake; he and XXXTentacion had an online feud.
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XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, had just left Riva Motorsports with a friend when his BMW was blocked by an SUV that swerved in front. Surveillance video showed two masked gunmen emerging and confronting the 20-year-old singer at the driver’s window, and one shot him repeatedly. They then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag containing cash XXXTentacion had just withdrawn from the bank, got back into the SUV and sped away. The friend was not harmed. Boatwright and Newsome were accused of being the gunmen. Williams was accused of being the driver of the SUV, with Allen also inside. Allen testified that the men set out that day to commit robberies and went to the motorcycle shop to buy Williams a mask. There they spotted the rapper and decided to make him their target.
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