A man has been found guilty of felony murder in connection with the 2022 fatal shooting of rapper PnB Rock at a Los Angeles restaurant. After deliberating for four hours, a Los Angeles County jury found Freddie Lee Trone, 42, guilty of one count of felony murder, two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery after sending his 17-year-old son of. to kill the rapper, the Los Angeles district attorney's office said in a news release.
During the trial, both the defense and the prosecution agreed that Trone's then 17-year-old son walked into South Los Angeles Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, shot PnB Rock and stole his jewelry from the Philadelphia rapper while he was eating with the mother of. of his 4-year-old daughter. The prosecution claimed the teenager was following his father's orders, while the defense said Trone was only an accessory after the fact. The now 19-year-old has been charged with murder, but remains in custody in the juvenile system and a judge has ruled him not currently competent to stand trial.
“There was no evidence that he conspired to commit murder. There is no evidence that there was any discussion of murder, there is no evidence that there was any discussion of a gun,” said Trone's attorney, Winston McKesson. The Associated Press. “There is no evidence that he gave his son a gun, no evidence that he told him to shoot the guy. The only evidence the jury found is that she left him and took him.'
PnB Rock's mother, Deannea Allen, said in an interview that she was “shaking” and “overjoyed” when the verdict was read. The New York Times. “I just said, 'Hallelujah, thank God,'” Allen said. “Justice has been served.”
A second defendant, Tremont Jones, was convicted of two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. Both Jones and Trone are scheduled to be sentenced on August 27.
PnB Rock, whose real name was Rakim Hasheem Allen, was shot and killed on September 12, 2022 during this robbery at Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles in Los Angeles. Ten days later, the Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution to honor the late rapper.
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