Three men have been found guilty of the first-degree murder of American rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot and killed during a robbery in Florida in 2018.
On Monday, a jury in Florida closed its week-long deliberations when it found Dedrick Williams, Michael Boatwright, and Trayon Newsome guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery, according to a report by the New York Times. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in the case and all three assailants face mandatory life sentences.
At the time of his death, 20-year-old XXXTentacion — real name Jahseh Onfroy — was at the height of his controversial career. He was shot and killed on June 18, 2018, as he attempted to leave a motorcycle shop in Florida by Boatwright and Newsome, who stole $50,000 in cash while Williams was said to be the getaway driver.
Robert Allen was also with the attackers that day, though he took a plea deal for second-degree murder in August of last year and later testified against his alleged co-conspirators. He stated that the decision to attack Onfroy was Williams’ idea and that it was Boatwright who shot him, and said he decided not to take part after recognizing that his face had been on camera inside the motorsports store.
Prosecutors argued, and Allen’s testimony confirmed, that the group had been planning to commit robberies that day and only happened to cross paths with Onfrony at the shop because they were there to pick up ski masks. Surveillance footage shown in court revealed the rapper’s BMW had been blocked by an S.U.V. by two masked attackers who vigilantly approached Onfroy’s vehicle after blocking the exit — thus began the altercation over the rapper’s bag of cash. There was one other person in the car with Onfroy at the time who fled as soon as the scuffle started.
Allen’s testimony also helped to weaken the defense’s string of murder-for-hire arguments against several targets including Drake, with whom Onfroy had been bashing on social media.
During opening arguments, the defense cited a Feb. 2018 post from Onfroy that read, “If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi [Drake on Instagram]. I’m snitching right now.” Those accusations were eventually ruled out by the Judge who said there was a lack of evidence of his involvement, though the topic was revisited by the defense during closing arguments with a claim that the Broward County sheriff’s detectives didn’t do enough to investigate other possible suspects.
The defense also tried to sway the jury with claims that Boatwright and Newsome were not present at the crime scene and cited a lack of DNA evidence from Boatwright, Newsome, or Williams. They also said that Allen was an unreliable witness due to his history of felony convictions.
Onfroy first entered the spotlight as a budding SoundCloud rapper and went on to achieve commercial success thanks to his breakout single, “Look at Me!,” and follow-up album, “?” in 2018. At the time, he was also caught in a flurry of legal problems over the alleged beating of a girlfriend while pregnant.
The controversy has resulted in numerous articles calling for the greater music industry to not “co-sign,” or endorse, his music. Before his death, Onfroy had pleaded not guilty to allegations of domestic battery by strangulation, witness-tampering and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman.
After his death, Onfroy’s story — from his meteoric rise to fame to his tragic fall — was relayed on the Hulu documentary “Look at Me.” He was also posthumously featured on albums by Kanye West and Lil Wayne.
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