Two charged in rapper’s slaying
Father and son are accused of robbing and murdering PnB Rock in South L.A.
Prosecutors have filed murder charges against two people — including a suspect arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday — in the brazen daytime robbery and killing of Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock at a South Los Angeles restaurant, authorities said.
Freddie Lee Trone, 40, and a 17-year-old boy were charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. A third suspect, Shauntel Trone, 38, was charged with robbery and being an accessory after the fact.
The teen, who was not identified because of his age, fired the shot that claimed the rapper’s life, according to a criminal complaint made public Thursday.
Shauntel Trone and the teen were arrested Tuesday, and an FBI-led task force captured Freddie Lee Trone around 1 p.m. Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Freddie Lee and Shauntel Trone are married, said Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. The teenager is Freddie Lee Trone’s son, according to law enforcement sources who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with the media. The teen and Shauntel Trone are not related, Risling said.
Rock, 30, whose real name was Rakim Allen, had been at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles on Manchester Avenue with his girlfriend, Stephanie Sibounheuang, on Sept. 12 when the assailants walked up to their table and demanded jewelry and other valuables. The jewelry was valued at “several hundreds of thousands of dollars,” according to the criminal complaint.
While some expressed concern that Rock may have been targeted after his girlfriend posted a picture to Instagram showing that they were at the restaurant, law enforcement sources have told The Times that the murder suspects were at the Roscoe’s parking lot before any social media posts related to the rapper’s presence there were published.
The teen approached Rock with a mask on, pointed a gun at him and shouted, “Give me all of your jewelry now,” according to the complaint. Prosecutors allege he shot the rapper in the chest while he sat a table, then twice in the back.
The teen appeared in juvenile court Thursday, and it was not immediately clear whether prosecutors will seek to try him as an adult.
“The decision of whether or not we seek to transfer a minor to adult court is not one taken lightly,” said Tiffiny Blacknell, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. “The office will not comment on the minor’s suitability for juvenile court without a thorough review of his background, the law and the circumstance surrounding the case.”
A court date has not been set for Freddie Lee Trone, but prosecutors said they will immediately seek his extradition from Nevada.
Dist. Atty. George Gascón barred prosecutors from trying juveniles as adults when he took office, but created a path to exceptions to that policy this year.