Prosecutor calls alleged killers of XXXTentacion ‘predators’

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) — A Florida prosecutor told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday that the three men accused of killing rapper XXXTentacion in 2018 were “predators” who were waiting outside a motorcycle shop to rob and shoot the rising star. , absconding with $50,000.

Prosecutor Pascal Achille played mobile phone videos taken by the defendants hours after the murder, in which they smiled and danced while displaying fistfuls of $100 bills. Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsom are charged with first-degree murder and face mandatory life in prison if found guilty.

“That’s who they are. This is their true nature. Killers who, within 24 hours of shooting a victim and stealing $50,000 from her, that’s what they’re doing,” Achille told the jury as she played the video. “Look how happy they are. Look how excited they look.”

She also played back surveillance video from the motorcycle shop and where the two of them allegedly hid the SUV, which she said links the men to the murder.

Defense lawyers were due to give their closing arguments on Tuesday afternoon. The trial started a month ago.

XXXTentacion. whose real name is Jasey Onfroy, had just pulled out of Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale on June 18, 2018 with a friend when his BMW was blocked by an SUV that swerved ahead.

Surveillance video showed that two armed masked men got out and confronted the 20-year-old singer at the driver’s window, and one of them shot him several times. They then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag of cash that XXXTentacion had just withdrawn from the bank, got back into the SUV and sped away. The friend was not hurt.

Boatwright, 28, is accused of being the shooter, and Newsom, 24, is accused of being the other shooter. Williams, 26, is accused of being the driver.

The fourth person who prosecutors say was in the SUV, 26-year-old Robert Allen, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year and testified against his former friends.

Prosecutors say the men intended to commit a robbery that day and went to a motorcycle shop to buy Williams a mask. There they noticed the rapper and decided to make him their target. Allen and Williams went to a motorcycle shop to confirm that it was him. They then returned to their rented SUV and waited for XXXTentacion to show up and ambush him, according to prosecutors.

The rapper, who spelled his name “Ex ex ex ten-ta-see-YAWN”, was a rising platinum-selling star who addressed issues such as prejudice and depression in his songs. He also came under fire for bad behavior and numerous arrests, including allegations that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend.

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