It was a premeditated attack. Three men were found guilty on Monday by a popular jury in the murder of American rapper XXXTentacion after more than a week of deliberations in Florida, in the southeastern United States.
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 containing $50,000 in cash was stolen from his car.
Dedrick Williams, 26, Trayvon Newsome, 24, and Michael Boatwright, 28, were convicted of murder and armed robbery by a jury in a Fort Lauderdale court. The three men will appear in court again on April 5 to hear their sentences. They face life imprisonment.
Billions of plays on Spotify
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.
But the talented artist 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 the midst of the #MeToo wave, his trial in a case where he was accused of beating his former girlfriend, who was pregnant.
