After years of preparation and investigation, the trial for the murder of Jahseh Onfroy is underway. Better known globally as XXXTentacion, Onfroy was gunned down in his home state in the summer of 2018. Four people were arrested in connection with the crime, and three are currently on trial after their accomplice turned state's witness. Robert Allen has taken the stand against Michael Boatwright, 27, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24. He detailed the plot to rob Onfroy.
CBS News further reported that the jury sat through the full surveillance video that showed the moment Onfroy was killed. That day, the rapper withdrew $50,000 from a back and later visited a motorbike shop. He was sitting in his BMW about to leave the parking lot when he was accosted but the group and shot in his driver's seat.
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Robert Allen, 26, reportedly pleaded guilty to second-degree murder back in August 2022. The other defendants are all looking at first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. Attorneys for the defense further argued that Allen was lying about the botched robbery to save his own skin. Allen claimed he and the defendants conspired on June 17, the day before the murder, to rent a vehicle. The purpose was to drive around the city and rob people. They reportedly purchased masks, armed themselves with guns, and went to find potential victims.
"Deidrick said it's XXX," Allen said of running into Onfroy by chance. The group quickly constructed a plan. They allegedly waited for Onfroy to leave the store. In the video jurors saw, the crew's Dodge SUV blocked Tentacion's car and prevented him from leaving. CBS News also reported, "Two men, one of them armed with a long-barrel rifle, went to his car to demand his jewelry and take his designer bag."
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Another person was in the car with Onfroy when he was murdered, but they ran for safety. They were described as a relative. "I couldn't see or hear what XXX was saying," Allen also claimed. He didn't get out of the vehicle because "I knew there was a good chance I would get caught. I did not want to get arrested." Because he didn't leave the SUV, Allen was only given $5,000 of the stolen money.
Immediately following Onfroy's murder, clips of him dying in his vehicle circulated online. People quickly called for them to be taken down. Additionally, the three defendants on trial face upwards of life in prison.
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