A Florida grand jury has indicted four men on first-degree murder and armed robbery charges in the shooting death of emerging rap star XXXTentacion. Two are already in custody; the other two are being sought.
The Broward County panel formally charged Dedrick Williams, 22; Michael Boatwright, 22; Trayvon Newsome, 20; and Robert Allen, 22, on Wednesday, court records showed.
According to a warrant filed in Boatwright’s case, the car driven by XXXTentacion, a $147,000 electric BMW i8, was blocked by a dark-colored SUV as it was exiting the Riva Motor Sports motorcycle shop in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on June 18.
Two masked men got out of the SUV with a gun intending to rob XXXTentacion, who had a Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000 in cash, police said. Earlier, police said, the rapper had visited a bank to withdraw cash from his account.
A struggled ensued and the 20-year-old rapper, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was shot multiple times by one or more gunman, who took the bag and fled.
Williams was arrested two days after the shooting, and Boatwright was arrested earlier this month on an unrelated drug charge. Authorities continue to search for Allen and Newsome.
At least one of the suspects, Williams, was seen in the store on surveillance cameras while XXXTentacion was shopping. A store clerk said Williams purchased a black neoprene mask and that he recognized Williams as a repeat customer, according to the warrant.
Williams later told police he was with others at the motorcycle shop but did not know in advance they intended to rob the rapper. Authorities say Williams drove the SUV.
“Williams stated that he wanted to tell the truth … Williams stated he was fearful of being labeled a snitch when he went to prison,” the warrant says.
Later, police said Williams’ girlfriend told them he had told her he was involved but that it was Boatwright and Newsome who carried out the actual robbery and slaying.
Police also found cellphone data on Boatwright’s phone indicating it was near the motorcycle shop at the time of the killing.
Other evidence includes cellphone video and photos with three of the suspects holding large amounts of $100 bills, police said.
XXXTentacion, 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.
The week after his murder, hundreds of fans gathered at a public memorial in a hockey arena in Sunrise, Florida, to view the body of the murdered young singer.
A six-hour, open-casket viewing was held for fans of South Florida rapper XXXTentacion, June 27, 2018, at the BB&T Center. Around a thousand fans, who came from all over, waited outside for a couple hours or longer to get in. Andrea Melendez, The News-Press-USA TODAY NETWORK
This rapper’s news is like the “KeKe” song
These 4 Young men anger me in so much ways I tell you, Black on Black crime is so real, look at their age, They seriously disgust me. All 4 had various rap sheets and it just makes you wonder how the rasshole they were out of jail and on the streets, They all had previous convictions from robbery to assault however these Rejects were able to do it again and again, We as black people really needs to shed light on US killing each other, we crying everyday about white people killing us and police brutality but cannot face reality of what is affecting our community. Kill them already, let them burn in hell, they don’t deserve to eat tax payers money.
Damn ugly f*ckers, ugly like dem heart at such a young age. Dedrick how u fi be the driver and they never told you what was the plan, stinking ugly lying bwoy? I hope u all get the death penalty, snitch/co-operate or not. Couldnt mek the lil bwoy finish turn around his life.
It grieve me to the core, money must finish now and I hope whoever hiding the others get a good 25 years under dem claat