XXXTentacion murder trial: Three suspects found guilty of killing rapper in 2018
BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: Dedrick Williams, Trayvon Newsome, and Michael Boatwright, the three main suspects in the fatal murder of rapper XXXTentacion, were found guilty by a jury on Monday, March 20.
Rapper XXXTentacion was shot and killed near Deerfield Beach in Broward County, Florida on June 18, 2018. At the young age of 20, the rapper was shot several times in his vehicle when he was visiting a motorcycle shop.
READ MORE
XXXTentacion's family believes his murder was premeditated and not a robbery gone wrong
XXXTentacion murder trial: Drake DOESN'T have to appear for deposition as judge quashes subpoena
First-degree murder
The trio, Dedrick Williams, Trayvon Newsome, and Michael Boatwright, shot and killed the rapper, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, and robbed him of $50,000. Then, they took videos flashing wads of stolen cash after his death.
They were found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery, according to a report by the NY Post. The sentence was passed by the jury in Broward County after they deliberated for more than seven days.
Robert Allen, a fourth man involved in the robbery, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year and testified against the three other defendants but has yet to be sentenced. Allen had been previously arrested on 22 counts of ID fraud, back in 2016.
Defense attorneys for the trio made wild accusations during the trial, including that authorities should have looked at other suspects like the rapper Drake because he had a feud with XXXTentacion.
Armed robbery
The rapper was on his way out of Riva Motorsports when an SUV swerved in front of his car and blocked him in. Prosecutors released surveillance video of the moments leading up to Onfroy's murder during a court hearing in September 2018. The video showed Onfroy sitting inside his BMW when he was approached by two men who jumped out of the passenger side of a black vehicle, ran to Onfroy's car window, and demanded the rapper's chain.
According to police, when Onfroy put up a fight, he was shot, and the robbers got away with a Louis Vuitton bag. Prosecutors allege Boatwright and Newsome were the two men who jumped out of the black SUV, which is shown in the surveillance video boxing in Onfroy's BMW.
Prosecutors further stated that it was Boatwright who fired into the rapper's car and killed him. Allen was allegedly in the black vehicle the whole time, so he is guilty of second-degree murder, according to a report by ABC News.
