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PA
Murder
Three killers of US rapper XXXTentacion given life sentences
The rapper, who pronounced his name “Ex ex ex ten-ta-see-YAWN,” was a platinum-selling rising star
THREE MEN FOUND guilty of murdering the rising rap star known as XXXTentacion in 2018 were sentenced today to life in prison.
The artist, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was only 20 when he was shot to death in broad daylight in Deerfield Beach, north of Miami.
Dedrick Williams, 26; Trayvon Newsome, 24; and Michael Boatwright, 28, received their sentences in a circuit court in Fort Lauderdale, just over two weeks after a jury found them guilty of first-degree murder.
Judge Michael Usan read each of them their sentences and emphasized that they will never leave prison alive. The three listened silently, offering no reaction.
On 18 June 2018, an SUV cut off XXXTentacion’s car – two people got out and shot him. They stole a bag containing $50,000 in cash and fled.
Prosecutors said it was Boatwright and Newsome who got out of the car, but Boatwright who shot the rapper. Williams was accused of being the getaway driver and mastermind of the attack.
A fourth suspect, 26-year-old Robert Allen, testified against the others after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and armed robbery.
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They then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag containing cash that XXXTentacion had just withdrawn from the bank, got back into the vehicle and sped away.
Allen said 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.
XXXTentacion’s career was just taking off when he was killed, winning fans over with works filled with open and dark verse about his suicidal thoughts.
XXXTentacion had hit number one on the album chart in 2018 with “?” but his success proved controversial due to his own history of violence. He had been awaiting trial on charges of beating his former girlfriend while she was pregnant.
During the month-long trial, prosecutors linked the men to the shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus phone videos they took that showed them flashing fistfuls of 100-dollar bills hours after the killing.
With reporting from PA
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