A jury in Florida has convicted three men for the death of late rapper Jahseh Ricardo Onfroy, known professionally as XXXTentacion. Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were found guilty of first‑degree murder and armed robbery by a Broward County court on Monday, NBC News reported.
The crime occurred on June 18, 2018, when two masked men attacked Onfroy as he drove out of a Florida RIVA Motorsports dealership. Surveillance video shown in court captured one assailant firing through the driver’s‑side window. The attackers also stole a Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000 from the rapper’s car and fled in an SUV. During the trial, prosecutors identified Boatwright as the gunman, Newsome as his accomplice, and Williams as the driver of the SUV used in the robbery.
Although the trio pleaded not guilty, a fourth suspect, 25‑year‑old Robert Allen, accepted a plea deal and testified for the prosecution against the other defendants. In the proceedings, Mauricio Padilla, the defense attorney for Williams, suggested that Canadian rapper Drake might be a person of interest and sought a court order to compel Drake to sit for a deposition. Padilla cited a February 2018 Instagram post by XXXTentacion in which the rapper tagged Drake’s account, writing, “If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi, I’m snitching right now.” The judge initially granted the order, but it was later quashed after Drake’s lawyers objected, arguing that it was “unreasonable and oppressive to subpoena an out‑of‑state party who has not been mentioned in any reports, any investigation, or referenced to have any involvement” in the case. Prosecutors also noted that there was no evidence linking Drake to the shooting.
Boatwright, Williams, and Newsome are scheduled to appear in court on April 6 for sentencing.
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