XXXTentacion‘s murder trial is still ongoing, and a Florida prosecutor has called the late rapper’s alleged killers “predators” during a court hearing inside a Broward County courthouse.
According to The Associated Press, on Tuesday (March 7), Prosecutor Pascale Achille played cellphone footage that allegedly shows Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome dancing with handfuls of $100 bills hours after allegedly killing XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy.
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“This is who they are,” Achille said, according to the outlet. “This is their real character. Killers that within 24 hours after shooting the victim dead and stealing $50,000 from him, this is what they do. Look at how happy they look. Look at how excited they look.”
Pascale told the courtroom that three men, along with a forth man named Robert Allen, were allegedly looking to rob individuals and reportedly went to Riva Motorsports in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to purchase a mask for Williams. While Williams and Allen went inside to purchase the item, they are said to have spotted XXXTentacion and then went back into a rented SUV and waited for him to come out of the shop. Once XXXTentacion left the shop, surveillance video showed that an SUV swerved in front of XXXTentacion’s BMW while he was inside the vehicle with a friend.
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After that, two masked gunman are accused of approaching the vehicle and opening fire, killing the rising star while his friend was unharmed. The men then reportedly grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag containing cash that XXXTentacion previously withdrew from an unknown bank.
Prosecutors also played surveillance video footage from the motorcycle shop which showed two of the men hiding an SUV which was connected to XXXTentacion’s murder. Boatwright, Williams and Newsome have all been charged with first-degree murder and face life in prison, if convicted. Meanwhile, Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2022 and testified against his former friends.
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While in court, George Reres, Newsome’s attorney attempted to convince the court not to convict his client due to Allen’s alleged testimony against his former friends. Reres claimed that his client wasn’t at the scene of the crime and that Newsome’s DNA didn’t appear on any evidence. Reres also claimed that even though cellphone footage shows his client flashing money, jurors shouldn’t presume he’s guilty because he may not have known where the money came from.
“He did some stupid things — he posed with some money,” Reres said, according to The Associated Press. “Guilt by association is not something the law permits.”
Mauricio Padilla, Williams’ attorney, called Allen a “liar“ and suggested that there was a contradiction between the prosecutor’s witnesses and that law enforcement failed to look at other possible suspects, including rapper Drake.
Previously, Drake was called to sit for a deposition during XXXTentacion’s trial because of their past grievances, but Judge Michael A. Usan ruled against the decision. In new video from the court room, Judge Usan found Padilla’s arguments to be unconvincing.
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“What does that have to do with someone who you have no evidence of being involved other than hearsay and innuendo?” Usan asked Padilla as he tried to state his case. “You are now trying to just drag somebody in who’s a celebrity who does not want to be associated with this. And the harm to that individual is not inconsequential.”
He continued: “At best, that would be adding an unindicted co-conspirator, if you will. But that’s not a defense to the individuals that are here.”
