On March 20, a Florida court found three men guilty for the murder of rapper XXXTentacion.
Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams were all convicted for first-degree murder and armed robbery.
Jahseh Onfroy, known professionally as XXXTentacion, became famous for his song “Look At Me,” which gained a large following on audio distribution platform SoundCloud in 2016. His album “?” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in June 2018.
Onfroy was shot and killed at a motorcycle shop in Broward County, Florida, on June 18, 2018. He was 20 years old.
Onfroy was robbed of $50,000 during the shooting.
The trial began on Feb. 7. Lead prosecutor Pascale Achille stated that Onfroy’s death was the result of a robbery gone wrong. He claimed that the suspects had planned to commit robbery that day, but encountered Onfroy by accident while buying facemasks at the motorcycle shop. When the suspects recognized the rapper, they chose to rob him instead.
Achille claimed the suspects blocked Onfroy from getting in his car as he left the store. Boatwright and Newsome wrestled away Onfroy’s bag, which contained the $50,000. Boatwright then shot Onfroy several times without provocation.
In building its case, the prosecution cited surveillance footage, social media posts that depict the suspects with the stolen money, and cellphone location data that linked the suspects to the motorcycle shop at the time of the robbery.
Robert Allen, a fourth suspect who pleaded guilty to second degree murder and armed robbery in 2022, testified against the suspects during the trial. Allen said Williams convinced the others to rob Onfroy, and confirmed Boatwright as the shooter.
Allen claimed not to have participated in the robbery because the store had cameras, but did get a $5,000 cut from the stolen money.
The defense attorneys attempted to discredit Allen’s testimony, with one calling him a “liar” and another bringing up prior felony convictions.
“Plans hatched in hell do not have angels for witnesses,” Achille said of Allen.
In addition to opposing Allen’s testimony, the defense claimed that there was no collected DNA evidence that matched the suspects.
“Whoever Onfroy struggled with is not in this courtroom,” Joseph Kimok, Boatwright’s attorney, said. “The DNA proves that someone not named Michael Boatwright or Trayvon Newsome participated in this murder.”
Mauricio Padilla, Williams’ attorney, lobbied for rapper Aubrey Graham, also known as Drake, to make an appearance at the trial, claiming that Graham had an ongoing feud with Onfroy and was somehow involved in the murder. Padilla cited a February 2018 Instagram post which read, “if anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi. I’m snitching right now.” @Champagnepapi is Graham’s Instagram handle. However, Onfroy deleted that post shortly after posting it, saying his account had been hacked.
The judge ruled that Graham would not be required to sit for deposition due to lack of evidence of his involvement.
Boatwright, Newsome and Williams are scheduled for sentencing on April 6.
Following the conviction, Jenesis Sanchez, Onfroy’s girlfriend, released a statement regarding the verdict on Instagram. “After 5 long years you may finally rest in peace,” Sanchez said. The couple’s son, Gekyume Onfroy, was born on Jan. 26, 2019. “Gekyume will never get to meet you earthside but it is my job as a mother to ensure I share the special memories with him. Jah was robbed of his life and Geky was robbed of his father. For this I will never truly have complete peace but justice being served today helps the healing process.”
