Three men found guilty of murdering XXXTentacion sentenced to life in prison
Three men found guilty of murdering XXXTentacion have been sentenced to life in prison.
Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24 were found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last month after a month-long trial.
XXXTentacion, real name Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was killed in a shooting aged 20 as he left a car dealership in Miami, Florida in June 2018.
Yesterday (April 6) all three men were formally sentenced to life in prison.
Dedrick Williams, Trayvon Newsome and Micheal Boatwright have all been sentenced to LIFE in prison without the possibility of parole.
They will spend their rest of their lives in prison for the murder of XXXTENTACION. pic.twitter.com/Nd6YLs4AHu
— elias (@eliasvro) April 6, 2023
A fourth co-defendant, Robert Allen previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in August 2022 and there were reports that a plea deal was taken by Allen in the hope of reducing his sentence by co-operating with law enforcement.
During the trial, Allen testified that the three men had planned to commit robberies that day and went to the motorcycle shop to buy a mask, but they spotted XXXTentacion and decided to target him.
The case was built around surveillance footage taken inside and outside of Riva Motorsports, plus phone videos that showed the trio with money that was allegedly stolen.
Addressing the men via local10.com, Melody Jones, XXXTentacion’s great aunt, said: “I heard the death penalty is off the table, however, whatever time is given and whichever hole you are sent, I hope it is hell and you rot there.”
Solomon Sobande, the late rapper’s manager, added: “We sat through this entire trial without seeing the defendants display an ounce of remorse for taking Jahseh’s life. Smiling at us, blowing kisses, waving, without even taking into consideration you not only killed a son, but you killed a father.”
Earlier this year, a Florida judge ruled that Drake wouldn’t need to be deposed in relation to the murder, after the rapper’s lawyers argued it was “unreasonable” for him to be drawn into the case.
Since XXXtentacion’s death, a number of posthumous releases have been shared, with the album ‘Bad Vibes Forever’ released in late 2019.
A feature-length documentary, titled Look At Me: XXXTentacion, was also released last year on Hulu in the US.
The documentary charts the late rapper’s ascent on SoundCloud, his struggles with mental health and his history of domestic abuse charges.
In 2018, he confessed to a series of violent crimes in a secret recording.
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Damian Jones
NME
