Three men convicted of murdering rapper XXXTentacion were handed life sentences on Thursday for the 2018 killing. XXXTentacion was gunned down outside a motorcycle shop in South Florida while being mugged of $50,000.
Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were each convicted last month of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury after eight long days of deliberations.
Prosecutors did not try to pin the death penalty on the trio, so Broward County Circuit Judge Michael Usan was only able to sentence them to life behind bars.
CCTV footage from both inside and outside the shop linked the killers to the murder of XXXTentacion.
The killers also had videos of themselves showing off handfuls of $100 bills on their phones.
The videos were taken only a few short hours after they shot the rapper dead.
Robert Allen, a former friend of the defendants who said he participated in the robbery, also testified against his old mates.
He pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder. His sentence was delayed until the conclusion of the other three defendants’ trial.
Allen’s assistance in the conviction of the three killers could see his sentence reduced to as little as time served, it has been reported, but this ultimately depends on the position of prosecutors.
Defense attorneys accused Allen of being a liar who was motivated by his desire to avoid a life sentence.
They also said prosecutors and detectives did a poor job on the investigation and didn’t look at other possible suspects, including the Canadian rap star Drake, who had feuded with XXXTentacion online.
XXXTentacion, real name Jahseh Onfroy, left Riva Motorsports with a friend when an SUV swerved in front of him and blocked his BMW.
CCTV footage showed two masked gunmen emerging and confronting the 20-year-old singer at the driver’s window.
The horrific footage then showed one of the men shooting the rapper repeatedly.
The killers then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag containing cash that XXXTentacion had withdrawn from the bank, got back into the SUV and sped away.
The rapper’s friend was not harmed in the attack.
Boatwright was identified as the primary shooter and Newsome was accused of being the other gunman. Williams was accused of driving the SUV and Allen of being inside the vehicle.
Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews
