Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Suspect held in rapper’s slaying
Second man sought in deadly robbery
After making one arrest, detectives are still looking for other suspects in connection with the shooting death of rapper XXXTentacion in an apparent robbery outside a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach.
Dedrick Williams, 22, of Pompano Beach — a tattoo artist and convicted car thief — was booked into Broward County’s main jail in Fort Lauderdale shortly after 11:30 p.m Wednesday.
Williams was wanted on a murder warrant and was taken into custody after a traffic stop in Pompano Beach, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said Thursday. An arrest report gave no details about how the slaying occurred.
Judge Kim Theresa Mollica ordered Williams held without bond during his initial court appearance Thursday. Williams stood expressionless next to Assistant Public Defender Hector Romero during the hearing and did not comment. Romero invoked Williams’ right to remain silent and to not be questioned by law enforcement without notifying the public defender’s office.
Williams faces charges of murder without premeditation, violation of probation and driving without a valid license, records show.
He has a history of arrests on drugs, weapons and assault charges, although the state attorney’s office declined to prosecute some of them. He was on probation for grand theft auto in Fort Lauderdale when he was taken into custody Wednesday.
At age 17, Williams was pulled over for driving a vehicle with a stolen tag. He admitted to paying $80 for a vehicle he knew was stolen, a police report says. He was sentenced to five years’ probation, ending in January 2021.
On the Instagram social media site, Williams is pictured in a shirt labeled with the names “Tattooman Chucky” and “Zombiez Ink,” although the state has no record of a business by that name.
Williams appears to have ties to Broward County’s rap scene, which is developing a national reputation. He is pictured with rappers Koly P and Kodak Black, for whom he says he inked a tattoo.
XXXTentacion, 20, whose given name was Jahseh Onfroy, died Monday after being shot inside his BMW i8 as he was driving away from RIVA Motorsports on North Dixie Highway in Pompano Beach. His attorney, David Bogenschutz, said Tuesday that detectives were investigating the death as “a random robbery.”
XXXTentacion apparently had gone to a bank and had wanted to buy a motorcycle at RIVA, Bogenschutz said.
As news of Williams’ arrest spread, fans gathered outside RIVA Motorsports to look at mementos left at the crime scene and take photographs.
Erica Jones, 24, of Coral Springs, said her brother played football with XXXTentacion.
“They were really close friends,” Jones said. XXXTentacion “was really big on helping youth, man, football, charities, anything.”
Another visitor, Brigitte Holloway-Romain, 55, a U.S. Army veteran from Pompano Beach, said, “I’m just so shocked that this could happen so close to home.
“This is sad. We have got to save our babies.”
Jake Villagio, 21, of Boca Raton, called the killing “unbelievable. So young, so much talent, so much ambition.” He said the arrest put his mind at ease.
“I hope it’s the right person,” he said. “As soon as it happened, a lot of people tried looking on Twitter and social media, trying to figure out who did it. But you’ve got to let the sheriff and the police do the work.”
Since the killing, authorities have said detectives were looking for two people who fled in a dark-colored SUV.
XXXTentacion was born in Plantation and grew up in Lauderhill before eventually settling in Parkland. He began his career by making music in his bedroom and posting it online. He had 16 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart — with six of them reaching the top 40.
A vigil Tuesday evening for the slain rapper, also near the spot where he was killed, drew hundreds of people.
Later that night, Broward Sheriff Scott Israel addressed the Deerfield Beach City Commission about the rapper’s death — calling it a “tragic shooting.”
“It’s a horrific crime and we’re going to solve it and we’re going to bring those who did it to justice,” he said.