XXXTentacion Murder Case: Jury Convicts Three guys

In the 2018 shooting death of popular rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle store while being robbed of $50,000, three men were found guilty of first-degree murder on Monday. A jury found all three defendants guilty of armed robbery: Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24. The jury reached its decision less than an hour after starting its eighth day of deliberations. Circuit Judge Michael Usan scheduled their sentencing for April 6; it will primarily be a formality because first-degree murder charges in Florida are punishable by life in prison.

As they stood one by one to be handcuffed by a bailiff, the defendants—two of whom were attired in suits and the other in a button-down shirt—exhibited little expression. Family members and other courtroom spectators did not make any audible comments. Usan gave a warning before the verdicts were announced, saying anyone who created any sort of disturbance would be held in contempt of court.

In a statement, the Broward State Attorney's Office praised the jurors and the prosecution but stated that it would reserve further comments for after the sentencing.

The Associated Press was informed by Williams' lawyer, Mauricio Padilla, that he does not believe his client received a fair hearing. He stated that he was prohibited from deposing a key witness and that a vital defense witness had been struck from the record. The lawyers for Boatright and Newsome received phone texts.

“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.

Prosecutors used extensive surveillance footage from both inside and outside Riva Motorsports as well as cellphone videos that the men themselves took to connect Boatwright, Williams, and Newsome to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside the business. This was done throughout the month-long trial.

The evidence of a fourth man, Robert Allen, a former friend of the defendants who claimed to have taken part in the robbery, was also presented by the prosecution. He admitted culpability to second-degree murder last year. He has not yet received a sentence because this prosecution is still ongoing. He could receive anything from time served, indicating he might be released soon, to life in prison, depending in part on how much weight prosecutors give to his cooperation.

Allen was accused by the defense team of lying and lying because he wanted to escape receiving a life sentence. Additionally, they claimed that the probe by the prosecutors and detectives was subpar and neglected to look into other potential suspects, such as Canadian rapper Drake, with whom XXXTentacion had an online beef.

The main shooter was named as Boatwright. The jurors requested access to 17 texts that the prosecution claimed he sent between the time he woke up at about 10:30 am and 3 pm, or roughly an hour before the shooting, twice last week. After that, he didn't communicate for about two hours.

When an SUV swerved in front of XXXTentacion, whose actual name was Jahseh Onfroy, and blocked his BMW, he had just left Riva Motorsports with a friend.

Boatwright texted a friend shortly after the attack, “Tell my brother I got the money for the new phone.” Prosecutors claim that a few minutes later, he sent someone a screenshot of a news report claiming that XXXTentacion had been wounded.

Two masked assailants were captured on surveillance footage approaching the 20-year-old performer at the driver's window and firing multiple shots at him. After that, they seized a Louis Vuitton purse that contained the money that XXXTentacion had just taken out of the bank, hopped back in the SUV, and sped off. The buddy suffered no harm.

It was asserted that Newsome was the other shooter. Allen was charged with being inside the SUV while Williams was charged with operating it.

Allen testified that the men traveled to the motorcycle store to purchase a mask for Williams before setting out that day to commit robberies. They resolved to make the rapper their target after seeing him there. Williams and Allen entered the store to make sure it was really him. Then, in accordance with testimony, they returned to the SUV they had hired, waited for XXXTentacion to emerge, and ambushed him.

The platinum-selling rising star rapper, whose name is pronounced "Ex ex ex ten-ta-see-YAWN," addressed problems like prejudice and depression in his tracks. He received flak for his bad behavior and numerous arrests, including allegations that he assaulted and mistreated his partner.