FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three men were found guilty Monday of the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.
Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were all found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury that deliberated a little more than seven days. They will receive mandatory life sentences at a later date.
The defendants showed little emotion as each stood and was handcuffed by a bailiff.
Suspects in the XXXTentacion murder trial with their attorneys during day six of jury deliberation at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Emerging rapper XXXTentacion, 20, born Jahseh Onfroy, was killed during a robbery outside of Riva Motorsports in Deerfield Beach in 2018.
During the monthlong trial, prosecutors linked the men to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus cellphone videos they took that showed them flashing fistfuls of $100 bills hours after the slaying.
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Prosecutors also had the testimony of a fourth man, Robert Allen, a former friend of the defendants who said he participated in the robbery. He pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder. He has not been sentenced pending the conclusion of this trial. He could get anywhere between time served, meaning he could soon be released, and life, depending partly on how prosecutors perceive his assistance.
Defense attorneys accused Allen of being a liar motivated by avoiding a life sentence. They also said prosecutors and detectives did a poor investigation that didn’t look at other possible suspects, including the Canadian rap star Drake; he and XXXTentacion had an online feud.
Twice this week, the jury asked to review text messages from Boatwright, whom prosecutors identified as the shooter, from the day of the shooting. A printout from prosecutors shows that from the time he woke up about 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., about an hour before the shooting, he sent 17 to various people, including one about getting a car. Prosecutors say the SUV used in the shooting was rented from a woman through a phone app. He then stopped texting for about two hours.
About an hour after the shooting, he sent a text saying, “Tell my brother I got the money for the new phone.” Minutes after that, he sent someone a screenshot of a news story saying XXXTentacion had been shot.
XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, had just left Riva Motorsports with a friend when his BMW was blocked by an SUV that swerved in front.
Surveillance video showed two masked gunmen emerging and confronting the 20-year-old singer at the driver’s window, and one shot him repeatedly. They then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag containing cash XXXTentacion had just withdrawn from the bank, got back into the SUV and sped away. The friend was not harmed.
Newsome was accused of being the other gunman. Williams was accused of being the driver of the SUV, with Allen also inside.
Allen testified that the men set out that day to commit robberies and went to the motorcycle shop to buy Williams a mask. There they spotted the rapper and decided to make him their target. Allen and Williams went inside the shop to confirm it was him. They then went back to the SUV they had rented, waited for XXXTentacion to emerge and ambushed him, according to testimony.
The rapper, who pronounced his name “Ex ex ex ten-ta-see-YAWN,” was a platinum-selling rising star who tackled issues including prejudice and depression in his songs. He also drew criticism over bad behavior and multiple arrests, including charges that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend. —-
Associated Press reporter Terry Spencer contributed to this report.
Stars we lost in 2018
Rick Hall, Jan. 2
Rick Hall, an Alabama record producer who recorded some of the biggest musical acts of the 1960s and ’70s and helped develop the fabled “Muscle Shoals sound,” died Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, following a fight with cancer, his longtime friend Judy Hood said. He was 85.
Jerry Van Dyke, Jan. 5
Jerry Van Dyke, the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke who struggled for decades to achieve his own stardom before clicking as the dim-witted sidekick in television’s “Coach,” died Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, in Arkansas, according to his manager. His wife, Shirley Ann Jones, was by his side. He was 86.
Cyrille Regis, Jan. 14
Cyrille Regis, a pioneer for black soccer players in England who endured racist abuse while forging a career with West Bromwich Albion and defied threats of violence to represent England’s national team, died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. He was 59.
Dan Gurney, Jan. 14
Dan Gurney, the first driver with victories in each of the Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR Cup series, died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, from complications of pneumonia. He was 86.
Dolores O’Riordan, Jan. 15
Dolores O’Riordan, lead singer of Irish band The Cranberries, died Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. She was 46. Formed in Limerick, Ireland at the end of the 1980s, The Cranberries became international stars in the 90s with hits including “Zombie” and “Linger” that fused the alternative rock edge with Celtic-infused pop tunefulness.
Dorothy Malone, Jan. 19
Dorothy Malone, who won hearts of 1960s television viewers as the long-suffering mother in the nighttime soap “Peyton Place,” died Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, from natural causes in her hometown of Dallas. She was 93.
She’s shown here with Anthony Quinn posing at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, Calif., March 27, 1957.
Olivia Cole, Jan. 19
Olivia Cole, who won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Matilda, wife to Chicken George in the landmark miniseries “Roots,” died of a heart attack Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, at her home in San Miguel de Allende, a city in central Mexico. She was 75.
Mark Salling, Jan. 30
Actor Mark Salling, one of the stars of the Fox musical comedy “Glee,” died, Tuesday Jan. 30, 2018. He was 35. Salling’s lawyer, Michael J. Proctor did not release the cause of death. Salling pleaded guilty in December to possession of child pornography.
Dennis Edwards, Feb. 1
Dennis Edwards, a Grammy-winning former member of the famed Motown group The Temptations, died Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 in Chicago after a long illness. He was 74.
In photos from left are; Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin and Glenn Beonard. Back row from left, Richard Street and Dennis Edwards.
John Mahoney, Feb. 4
John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in “Frasier” played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and Niles, died Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, in Chicago after a brief hospitalization. He was 77.
John Gavin, Feb. 9
John Gavin, the tall, strikingly handsome actor who appeared in “Spartacus,” “Psycho” and other hit films of the 1960s before forsaking acting to become President Ronald Reagan’s ambassador to Mexico, died Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, at age 86.
Reg E. Cathey, Feb. 9
Emmy-winning actor Reg E. Cathey, best known for “House of Cards” and “The Wire,” died Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. He was 59.
Vic Damone, Feb. 11
Vic Damone, whose mellow baritone once earned praise from Frank Sinatra as “the best pipes in the business,” died Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, at a Miami Beach hospital from complications of a respiratory illness. He was 89.
Daryle Singletary, Feb. 12
Country singer Daryle Singletary, who sang songs like “I Let Her Lie” and “Too Much Fun,” died Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, at his home in Lebanon, Tenn. He was 46.
Nanette Fabray, Feb. 22
Actress Nanette Fabray, the vivacious, award-winning star of the stage, film and television, died Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. She was 97.
Sridevi, Feb. 24
Sridevi, Bollywood’s leading lady of the 1980s and ’90s who redefined stardom for actresses in India, died Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. She was 54.
The actress was described as the first female superstar in India’s male-dominated film industry.
Hubert de Givenchy, March 10
French couturier Hubert de Givenchy, a pioneer of ready-to-wear who designed Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Saturday, March 10, 2018. He was 91.
Stephen Hawking, March 14
Stephen Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, died at his home in Cambridge, England, Wednesday, March 14, 2018. He was 76.
Chuck McCann, April 9
Actor and comedian Chuck McCann, who recorded the famous line “I’m cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!” died Sunday, April 9, 2018. He was 83.
R. Lee Ermey, April 15
R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine who made a career in Hollywood playing hard-nosed military men like Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket,” died Sunday, April 15, 2018. He was 74.
Harry Anderson, April 16
Harry Anderson, the actor best known for playing an off-the-wall judge working the night shift of a Manhattan court room in the television comedy series “Night Court,” died Monday, April 16, 2018. He was 65.
Avicii, April 20
Avicii, the Grammy-nominated electronic dance DJ who performed sold-out concerts for feverish fans around the world and also had massive success on U.S. pop radio, died Friday, April 20, 2018. He was 28.
Verne Troyer, April 21
Verne Troyer, who played Dr. Evil’s small, silent sidekick “Mini-Me” in the “Austin Powers” movie franchise, died Saturday, April 21, 2018. He was 49.
Margot Kidder, May 13
Margot Kidder, who starred as Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the “Superman” film franchise of the late 1970s and early 1980s, died Sunday, May 13, 2018. She was 69.
Robert Indiana, May 19
Pop artist Robert Indiana, best known for his 1960s “LOVE” series, died Saturday, May 19, 2018, at his island home off the coast of Maine. He was 89.
The artist’s “LOVE” sculpture, in which the “L” and a leaning “O” sit atop the “V” and the “E,” is instantly recognizable worldwide. But he has created other works as well, and fashioned a “HOPE” design, similar to “LOVE,” in honor of former President Barack Obama.
Kate Spade, June 5
Kate Spade, a fashion designer known for her sleek handbags, was found hanged in her Park Avenue apartment Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in an apparent suicide, law enforcement officials said.
Anthony Bourdain, June 8
Anthony Bourdain, the celebrity chef and citizen of the world who inspired millions to share his delight in food and the bonds it created, was found dead in his hotel room Friday, June 8, 2018, in France while working on his CNN series on culinary traditions. He was 61.
Charles Krauthammer, June 21
Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and pundit who helped shape and occasionally dissented from the conservative movement as he evolved from “Great Society” Democrat to Iraq War cheerleader to denouncer of Donald Trump, died Thursday, June 21, 2018. He was 68.
Richard Benjamin Harrison, June 25
“Pawn Stars” patriarch, Richard Benjamin Harrison, who was known as “The Old Man,” died Monday, June 25, 2018, at age 77. Gold & Silver Pawn’s Facebook page posted Monday that Harrison was surrounded by “loving family” this past weekend and died peacefully.
Joe Jackson, June 27
Joseph Jackson, the fearsome stage dad of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and their talented siblings, who took his family from poverty and launched a musical dynasty, died Wednesday, June 27, 2018. He was 89.
Harlan Ellison, June 27
Harlan Ellison, the prolific, pugnacious author of “A Boy and His Dog,” and countless other stories that blasted society with their nightmarish, sometimes darkly humorous scenarios died Wednesday, June 27, 2018. He was 84.
Tab Hunter, July 8
Tab Hunter, the blond actor and singer who was a heartthrob for millions of teenage girls in the 1950s with such films as “Battle Cry” and “Damn Yankees!” and received new attention decades later when he revealed that he was gay, died Sunday, July 8, 2018. He was 86.
Charlotte Rae, Aug. 5
Charlotte Rae, who played a wise and patient housemother to a brood of teenage girls on the long-running sitcom “The Facts of Life” during a career that encompassed many other TV roles as well as stage and film appearances, died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018. She was 92.
Aretha Franklin, Aug. 16
Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul” who sang with matchless style on such classics as “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and her signature song, “Respect,” and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, died Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. She was 76.
Ed King, Aug. 22, 2018
Ed King, a former guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd who helped write several of the group’s hits including “Sweet Home Alabama,” died in Nashville, Tennessee, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. He was 68.
Robin Leach, Aug. 24
Robin Leach, whose voice crystallized the opulent 1980s on TV’s “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” died Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. He was 76.
Bill Daily, Sept. 4
Bill Daily, the comic sidekick to leading men on the sitcoms “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Bob Newhart Show,” died Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, of natural causes in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was 91.
Burt Reynolds, Sept. 6
Burt Reynolds, who starred in films including “Deliverance,” “Boogie Nights,” and the “Smokey and the Bandit” films, died Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. He was 82.
He’s shown in this March 15, 1987 photo with Loni Anderson at a polo match in Boca Raton, Fla.
Mac Miller, Sept. 7
Mac Miller, the platinum hip-hop star whose rhymes vacillated from party raps to lyrics about depression and drug use, and earned kudos from the likes of Jay-Z and Chance the Rapper, died Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. He was 26.
Marty Balin, Sept. 27
Marty Balin, a patron of the 1960s “San Francisco Sound” both as founder and lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane and co-owner of the club where the Airplane and other bands performed, died Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. He was 76.
Scott Wilson, Oct. 6
Scott Wilson, who played the murderer Richard Hickock in 1967’s “In Cold Blood” and was a series regular on “The Walking Dead,” died Saturday, Oct. 6. He was 76.
James Karen, Oct. 23
James Karen, a prolific and beloved character actor whose hundreds of credits included memorable appearances in “Poltergeist” and “The Return of the Living Dead,” died Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. He was 94.
Stan Lee, Nov. 12
Stan Lee, the creative dynamo who revolutionized the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human frailties in superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, died Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. He was 95.
Douglas Rain, Nov. 11
Canadian actor Douglas Rain, who played some of Shakespeare’s most intriguing characters onstage but perhaps is best known for supplying the creepily calm voice of the computer HAL in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” died Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. He was 90.
Roy Clark, Nov. 15
Country star Roy Clark, the guitar virtuoso and singer who headlined the cornpone TV show “Hee Haw” for nearly a quarter century and was known for such hits as “Yesterday When I was Young” and “Honeymoon Feeling,” died Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. He was 85.
Bernardo Bertolucci, Nov. 26
Italian film-maker Bernardo Bertolucci, who won Oscars with “The Last Emperor” and whose erotic drama “Last Tango in Paris” enthralled and shocked the world, died Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. He was 77.
Stephen Hillenburg, Nov. 26
Stephen Hillenburg, who used his dual loves of drawing and marine biology to spawn the absurd undersea world of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS. He was 57.
Philip Bosco, Dec. 3
Philip Bosco, the Tony Award-winning actor known for his roles in films “Working Girl” and “The Savages,” died Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. He was 88.
The actor’s daughter, Celia Bosco, said her father had complications with dementia, which is commonly caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Sondra Locke, Nov. 3
Actress and director Sondra Locke, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her first film role in 1968’s “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” and went on to co-star in six films with Clint Eastwood, died Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, at her Los Angeles home of cardiac arrest stemming from breast and bone cancer. She was 74.
Authorities were promptly notified at the time, but her death was not publicized until RadarOnline first reported it Thursday, Dec 13. It is not clear why it took nearly six weeks to come to light.
Nancy Wilson, Dec. 13
Nancy Wilson, the Grammy-winning “song stylist” and torch singer whose polished pop-jazz vocals made her a platinum artist and top concert performer, died Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. She was 81.
Penny Marshall, Dec. 17
Penny Marshall, who starred in “Laverne & Shirley” before becoming one of the top-grossing female directors in Hollywood, died Monday, Dec. 17, 2018. She was 75.
Marshall’s publicist, Michelle Bega, said Marshall died in her Los Angeles home due to complications from diabetes. “Our family is heartbroken,” the Marshall family said in a statement.
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