Jury convicts 3 of murder in death of rapper
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Three men were found guilty of first-degree murder on Monday in the 2018 killing of star rapper Xxxtentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.
Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were also convicted of armed robbery by a jury that rendered its verdict less than an hour after beginning its eighth day of deliberations.
Their sentencing, which Circuit Judge Michael Usan set for April 6, will largely be a formality; Florida law dictates a life sentence for firstdegree murder convictions.
The defendants showed little emotion as they stood one by one to be handcuffed by a bailiff.
The Broward State Attorney’s Office thanked the jurors and prosecutors in a statement but said it would not comment further until the sentencing.
Williams’ attorney, Mauricio Padilla, told The Associated Press that he doesn’t feel his client was afforded a fair trial. He noted that a crucial defense witness was stricken and that he was prohibited from deposing a key witness. Phone messages were left with attorneys representing Boatright and Newsome.
“It is obvious from the days the jury was deliberating that they had questions and I only wish I would have been able to properly defend my client,” Padilla said in an email.
During the monthlong trial, prosecutors linked Boatwright, Williams and Newsome to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus cellphone videos the men took showing them flashing fistfuls of $100 bills hours after the slaying.
Boatwright was identified as the primary shooter. Twice last week, the jury asked to review 17 text messages that prosecutors said he sent to various people from the time he woke up about 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., about an hour before the shooting. He then stopped texting for about two hours.
About an hour after the shooting, Boatwright sent a text saying, “Tell my brother I got the money for the new phone.” Minutes after that, he sent someone a screenshot of a news story saying Xxxtentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, had been shot, prosecutors said.