The three men accused of killing XXXTentacion have been sentenced to life in prison.
According to WPLG, the defendants—Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams—received their sentencing on Thursday, nearly five years after XXXTentacion was fatally shot at age 20. Prosecutors say the three men and their co-defendant Robert Allen had targeted XXXTentacion—legal name Jahseh Onfroy—outside a motorsport dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The men allegedly robbed the rapper at gunpoint, before Boatwright allegedly opened fire.
The suspects immediately fled the scene, and XXXTentacion was transported to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead shortly after. All four men were initially charged with first-degree murder; however, Robert pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder back in August and agreed to testify against his co-defendants. During his testimony, Allen identified Williams as the ringleader/getaway driver, while Newsome and Boatwright confronted XXXTentacion in a parking lot. He told the court Newsome was the one who opened fire during the armed robbery, which was captured on surveillance camera.
After a month-long trial and 27 hours of deliberation, the jury found Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams guilty of first-degree murder. The convictions guaranteed life sentences for all three men, as prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty. They will have no chance for parole or early release.
Allen is facing a minimum of 25 years behind bars and will be sentenced at a later date.
“This is a loss we will never truly recover from,” XXXTentacion’s former manager, Solomon Sobande, said in a statement Thursday. “We will never get to see Jahseh live to his full potential, we will never get to watch him grow old, we will never get to watch him be a father.”
