FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The three men convicted of gunning down rapper XXXTentacion during a 2018 heist will spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome were each handed down two life sentences by Judge Michael Usan on Thursday.
In March, the jury sealed the fates of the trio after a monthlong trial and eight days of deliberation. They were convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon.
The courtroom was packed for the sentencing, with families on both sides of the aisle tearing up — and some shaking their heads — as Usan announced the three men’s sentences.
Penelope Jones, XXXTentacion’s grand aunt, shared her grief on the witness stand Thursday.
“Jahseh was loved by his family and friends all over this world,” she said. “You guys murdered him and left a gaping hole in each person’s heart.”
Jones said that every time she attended the trial, she glanced over at the three men. All of them smirked, especially Boatwright, who turned to the cameras during the verdicts and blew a kiss with a smirk spread across his face.
“You guys showed no empathy to the family you destroyed with your evil, callous deeds,” she said. “Whatever time you’re given and whichever hole (to which) you are sent, I hope it is hell and you rot there.”
In June 2018, XXXTentacion’s family received a gut-wrenching call informing them their loved one was taken, said Solomon Sobande, the rapper’s entertainment manager who read out a statement on behalf of the family.
“Taken is a passive way to put it,” Sobande read. “Our loved one, Jahseh Onfroy, was murdered.”
XXXTentacion’s life was cut short at the tender age of 20, Sobande said. He was on the journey of becoming a man — and leaving the world a better place than he found it.
“We sat through the entire trial without seeing the defendants displaying an ounce of remorse for taking Jahseh’s life,” Sobande read. “Smiling at us, blowing kisses, waving. Without even taking into consideration that not only did they kill a son but that they killed a father.”
Judge laments legal system’s limitations
Murder cases, Usan said, are difficult because they never end with true justice. At the least, Boatwright, Newsome and Williams will no longer be part of XXXTentacion’s story.
“If I were truly able to get justice, I would bring him back,” he said. “But I can’t do that.”
For Usan, the rapper’s memory shouldn’t be tarnished by his violent end.
“He lives on through the music that he left and the hearts of all those who followed him and adored him.,” Usan said. “That never dies. That will live on forever.”
Usan then lambasted each defendant for their role in the crime.
Newsome, he said, is a perfect example of why people who participate in a crime that ends with murder get the charge — even if they didn’t pull the trigger.
He pointed to when Newsome lashed out at co-defendant Robert Allen and called Allen a snitch for testifying against him.
“Perhaps your anger should be directed behind you, at your co-defendants, the one who selected the target and the one who turned a robbery into a murder,” Usan said. “They’re the ones you can thank for your predicament beyond your actions.”
Though Williams also didn’t shoot the rapper, he bears responsibility for picking XXXTentacion as the target and tailing him the day of the slaying, Usan said.
Usan mentioned the videos presented during trial of Williams dancing while flashing money. The day after the killing, Williams spent the blood money on sneakers — showing how little he valued human life, Usan said.
“While you were dancing on that bed, throwing down those bills, you weren’t throwing money down on the floor,” Usan said. “You should think of that as you tossing down the days, weeks and months of your life.”
The day Boatwright gunned down XXXTentacion he didn’t end one life, Usan said. He ended five.
Life in Florida prison is like the line in “Hotel California”: You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave, Usan said.
“One day, they’ll come and open up that cell in the morning and you’ll have passed on,” he said. “Only on that day, will you have served your sentence.”
Shot leaving Deerfield Beach dealership
XXXTentacion, whose name was Jahseh Onfroy, was shot to death on June 18, 2018, as he was leaving the RIVA Motorsports dealership in Deerfield Beach. A dark-colored SUV blocked his BMW, police say, and two gunmen hopped out — robbing the rapper and firing a spray of bullets.
After the crime, police identified the two gunmen as Boatwright, 27, and Newsome, 24. They identified Williams, 26, as the getaway driver.
The focus of the robbery, police say, was a Louis Vuitton bag with $50,000 inside. The rapper had withdrawn the sum out of his account at a Bank of America branch in stacks of $100 bills.In August, Robert Allen, the fourth suspect, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm. The 26-year-old testified against his co-defendants in the trial.
Allen will be sentenced on April 12.
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