Three men convicted of murdering rapper XXXTentacion sentenced to LIFE in prison 

Three men convicted of the murder of rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot dead in 2018, have been sentenced to life in prison.

The 20-year-old rapper, real name Jahseh Onfroy, was attacked by Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, in June 2018 outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.

All three were found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery on March 20 after a week of deliberations by the jury, and on Thursday, April 6, they were sentenced to life in prison in Broward County, Florida by Circuit Judge Michael Usan.

They are not eligible for parole or parole.

A fourth defendant, Robert Allen, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year and admitted participating in the robbery with the other three men. He hasn’t been convicted yet.

Michael Boatwright, 28, (left) Dedrick Williams, 26, (centre) and Trayvon Newsome, 24, (right) were all found guilty of first degree murder last month and given life sentences

Boatwright, who was found to have fired the fatal shots, was also sentenced to an additional 30 years in prison, following a petition to District Attorney Pascale Achille.

Achille asked for the extra sentence because Boatwright violated the terms of his probation after the rapper’s murder.

The sentence will be served consecutively to his life imprisonment, at the request of Achille due to Boatwright’s “abhorrent behaviour” during the trial, which included laughing during the proceedings.

Usan said, “You turned a robbery into a murder. On that day, when you stood there and fired that weapon, you ended five lives, including your own.’

XXXTentacion’s manager, Solomon Sabande, read a statement in court on behalf of the rapper’s family NBCMiamiwhich read, “This is a loss we will never really recover from.

“We will never see Jahseh live to his full potential. We’ll never see him grow old. We will never see him become a father.

Onfroy’s son was born seven months after the murder.

Prosecutors linked the three men to the murder through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus video showing them handfuls of $100 bills hours after the murder.

Final image: XXXTentacion, whose real name is Jahseh Onfroy, was shot and killed on June 18, 2018 at the age of 20, after being ambushed during an apparent robbery as he exited a motorsports shop in Deerfield

The jury was told Boatwright (pictured) was the shooter – he was also given an additional 30 years in prison

Cleopatra Bernard, mother of slain rapper XXXTentacion, thanked his fans for following the case and said “justice has been done” as she left the courtroom.

A fourth defendant, Robert Allen, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year and admitted participating in the robbery with the other three men.

Defense attorneys accused Allen of being a liar motivated by avoiding a life sentence, and claimed prosecutors were not looking at other possible suspects, including rapper Drake.

He was instructed to appear on Zoom on Feb. 24 to answer questions, after reportedly missing his first date on Jan. 27.

Canadian rapper Drake reportedly had an online feud, but authorities confirmed he was not a suspect in the incident.

The jury was told that Boatwright, who was the shooter, sent messages to 17 people before renting the SUV used in the shooting through a phone app.

Then he stopped texting for about two hours, before sending a message that read, “Tell my brother I have the money for the new phone.”

Minutes after that, he sent someone a screenshot of a news report saying that XXXTentacion had been shot.

XXXTentacion had just left Riva Motorsports with a friend when his BMW was blocked by an SUV that swerved in front of him.

Surveillance video showed two masked gunmen emerging and confronting the 20-year-old singer at the driver’s window, and one shot him repeatedly.

They then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag of cash that XXXTentacion had just withdrawn from the bank, got back into the SUV and ran. The friend was not injured.

Newsome was accused of being the other shooter. Williams was accused of being the driver of the SUV, while Allen was also in it.

Allen testified that the men left that day to commit robberies and went to the motorcycle shop to buy a mask for Williams.

There they saw the rapper and decided to make him their target. Allen and Williams entered the store to confirm it was him.

They then went back to the SUV they rented, waited for XXXTentacion to emerge and ambushed him, according to testimony.

The rapper, who pronounced his name as “Ex ex ex ten-ta-see-YAWN,” was a platinum-selling rising star who tackled issues of prejudice and depression in his songs.

He was also criticized for bad behavior and multiple arrests, including allegations that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend.