Three Broward County Men Face Life Sentence After Jury Finds Them Guilty of Killing XXXTentacion
After considering the case for over a week, a jury on Monday found the three people charged with the killing of the rapper XXXTentacion in Florida in 2018 guilty.
Rapper, XXXTentacion, performing on stage.
HIPHOPDX/Hunter Short
Jahseh Onfroy, the real name of 20-year-old XXXTentacion, was fatally shot on June 18, 2018 in Deerfield Beach, a city located north of Miami.
At the time, the Broward County Sheriff's Office reported that a car was leaving Riva Motorsports when an SUV pulled up and two masked men exited the vehicle. One of them fired numerous shots at the individual in the car, and then the assailants snatched a Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000 from inside the car before fleeing the scene in the SUV.
In Broward County court, a jury found Dedrick Williams (age 26), Trayvon Newsome (age 24), and Michael Boatwright (age 28) guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery.
A sentencing hearing for all three is set for April 6. Conviction of first-degree murder carries a life sentence.
The three defendants had asserted their innocence. Meanwhile, Robert Allen, the 25-year-old, admitted to second-degree murder in the previous year and presented evidence against the other three on behalf of the prosecution.
Prosecutors claimed that Boatwright was the shooter, Newsome acted as the second gunman, and Williams drove the SUV. Surveillance video displayed in court showed the attack which unfolded in the parking lot and featured two masked men with guns pointed at XXXTentacion's vehicle, with one of them shooting through the driver's side window.
The defense attempted to create doubt in Allen's testimony and mentioned the lack of investigation into XXXTentacion's hostilities with the rapper Drake, but prosecutors asserted there was no data connecting Drake to the shooting.
In 2017, Onfroy became a huge star when he released "Look at Me" on SoundCloud, which rose to the 34th spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It was reported that he then signed a $6 million record contract with a subsidiary of Capitol Music Group. His music, which mainly focused on grief and isolation, amassed him a cult following.
In 2016, however, he had a number of legal issues, leading to his arrest in Miami-Dade County. Court records reveal that he was charged with aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, and other violent crimes.