A Florida jury found three men guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery on Monday in the 2018 killing of rapper XXXTentacion, who was killed by masked gunmen outside a motorcycle shop while stealing $50,000 from the singer.
According to The Associated Press, Circuit Judge Michael Usan at the Florida 17th Circuit Court, which presides over Broward County, convicted Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, after eight days of deliberations.
Cleopatra Bernard, XXXTentacion’s mother, exited the courtroom following the conviction with her family and thanked everyone following the case.
“Justice was done,” Bernard said, according to The Miami Herald.
XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was only 20 years old at the time of his death. He was killed on June 18, 2018, outside Riva Motorsports in the suburbs of Fort Lauderdale.
The conviction came about through a review of surveillance footage, data from over a thousand cell phones, and the jury’s understanding of the testimony of Robert Allen — who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year. Broward County prosecutors identified Boatwright as the primary shooter, Newsome as the other shooter, and Williams as the driver of the SUV.
Williams’ attorney, Mauricio Padilla, told The Associated Press in an email that he believes the court did not afford his client a fair trial.
“It is obvious from the days the jury was deliberating that they had questions and I only wish I would have been able to properly defend my client,” Padilla said in an email.
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“They then went back to the SUV they had rented, waited for XXXTentacion to emerge, and ambushed him,” according to testimony reported by The Associated Press.
Allen said during his testimony that the four men had planned to commit robberies, which led them to the motorcycle shop to purchase a mask for Williams, The Associated Press reported. Once the men arrived at the shop, they named XXXTentacion their target after spotting him inside. Then, according to testimony, the men returned to a rented SUV and waited to ambush the artist.
According to a surveillance video reported by The Press, an SUV swerved in front of XXXTentacion and his friend inside the platinum-selling rapper’s BMW. Two gunmen approached the driver’s window, and one repeatedly shot XXXTentacion dead before escaping with a Louis Vitton bag filled with $50,000 cash. The other passenger was left unharmed.
Prosecutors identified Boatwright as the primary shooter after reviewing numerous text messages to various people. One text allegedly said, “Tell my brother I got the money for the new phone.” According to prosecutors, Boatwright followed up minutes later with a screenshot message to one of his contacts of a news article reporting that XXXTentacion had been shot.
First-degree murder convictions under Florida law constitute a life sentence. Allen, who pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder, could get anywhere from the time he has already served to a life sentence — depending on how much the prosecutors want to consider his testimony.
Broward State Attorney’s Office authorities thanked the jurors and prosecutors in a statement to The Associated Press without further comment on the sentencing, which the judge set for April 6.
XXXTentacion rose to fame seven years ago with his 2017 single “Look at Me.” His debut album “17” reached number two on the Billboard 200 and became a double platinum record. During this time, the rapper also was awaiting trial on charges of battery, false imprisonment, and witness tampering stemming from the alleged violent assault of a former girlfriend, The New York Times reported.
“If I’m going to die or ever be a sacrifice, I want to make sure that my life made at least five million kids happy, or they found some sort of answers or resolve in my life, regardless of the negative around my name, regardless of the bad things people say to me,” XXXTentacion said in a video posted to social media before his death.