The three men found guilty at the end of March of the murder of American rapper XXXTentacion were sentenced to life on Thursday by a court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Barely 20 years old, the rap star was shot dead in the middle of the street in June 2018 in Deerfield Beach, a city north of Miami. A luxury bag had been stolen from his car.
A jury on March 20 found Dedrick Williams, 26, Trayvon Newsome, 24, and Michael Boatwright, 28, guilty of premeditated murder and armed robbery.
According to justice, the latter two had left the vehicle having blocked the road of the rapper’s car and it was Michael Boatwright who had killed him. The third, who remained behind the wheel, had planned the attack.
A fourth suspect, Robert Allen, 26, had testified against them after pleading guilty to manslaughter, non-premeditated, and armed robbery.
Considered one of the spearheads of the new generation of American hip-hop, XXXTentacion rose to fame by publishing their songs on the SoundCloud platform. His music, very dark and muffled tones, often evoked his depression and his past as a criminal.
His second studio album, “? “, had taken, upon its release in March 2018 and without any traditional promotion, the first place in the Billboard ranking.
He was at the center of controversy because of the violence in which he was involved.
Already convicted of assault, Jahseh Onfroy – his real name – was awaiting, in full wave #MeToo (#MeToo), his trial in a case where he was accused of beating his former girlfriend, pregnant.