The three men convicted of ambushing, robbing and murdering rising rap star XXXTentacion in Deerfield Beach nearly five years ago were sentenced Thursday to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Attorneys for Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome and Dedrick Williams say they will appeal the conviction, which came March 20 after more than a week of deliberation.
The rapper, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was 20 when he was gunned down outside Riva Motorsports in Deerfield Beach. According to trial testimony, he was at the motorcycle shop with a Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000 he had just withdrawn from a Bank of America on June 18, 2018.
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Prosecutors said Boatwright and Newsome jumped out of a rented car and struggled with Onfroy as he tried to drive away from the motorcycle shop. Williams and a fourth man, identified as Robert Allen, were in the rented car at the time.
Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against his co-defendants. A mandatory life sentence is not legally mandated for second-degree murder, but Allen did not have a deal promising less.
For the others, convicted of first-degree murder, Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan had no legal alternative but to hand down a life sentence.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at [email protected] or 954-304-5256. Follow him on Twitter @rolmeda.
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