Murder of XXXTentacion
On June 18, 2018, 20-year-old American rapper and singer-songwriter Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, known professionally as XXXTentacion, was murdered in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Onfroy was fatally shot by 22-year-old Michael Boatwright after being robbed in his car by Boatwright and his accomplices Trayvon Newsome, Dedrick Williams, and Robert Allen outside RIVA Motorsports, an upscale dealership of motorcycles and watercraft in Deerfield Beach. Authorities charged the four men with first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
On August 12, 2022, Robert Allen pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm and to the lesser conviction of second-degree murder in a plea deal in exchange for his testimony against the others.
Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams were convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm at their trial on March 20, 2023. On April 6, 2023, Newsome and Williams were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; Boatwright received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus another consecutive 30 years in prison.
On May 17, 2023, Robert Allen was sentenced to 7 years in prison with credit for time served, plus 20 years probation after he is released. He was released early from prison on October 26, 2023.
Murder
On June 18, 2018, Onfroy went to Bank of America to withdraw money before heading to RIVA Motorsports, an upscale seller of motorcycles and boats in Deerfield Beach, Florida. After withdrawing money, he was followed by a dark-colored Dodge Journey SUV containing Dedrick Williams, Robert Allen, Michael Boatwright, and Trayvon Newsome.The murder was premeditated. Investigators determined Williams had been in a probation office at the same time as Onfroy in January 2018, and recognized Onfroy's car the day of the murder, which Robert Allen confirmed in a police interview. As the perpetrators were driving in the rental Dodge Journey, Williams spotted Onfroy's car in the RIVA Motorsports parking lot and told the other perpetrators that they should go into the dealership to confirm that it was actually Onfroy.
At 3:30 p.m. EDT, Onfroy arrived at RIVA Motorsports and entered with his step-uncle, Leonard Kerr. Security camera footage showed that Robert Allen and Dedrick Williams then followed Onfroy inside the store, and walked right past Onfroy as he was browsing motorcycles. They are recorded coming into RIVA and buying two black masks.
Nearly half an hour later, Onfroy left the dealership, entered his black BMW i8 and began to drive away from the dealership. The SUV drove in front of Onfroy's car, blocking his only exit from the dealership, while Newsome and Boatwright exited the vehicle and demanded property from Onfroy with firearms in hand. A brief struggle ensued, in which Boatwright and Newsome punched Onfroy several times, and Newsome began demanding Onfroy's chain. Amid the struggle, Onfroy's step-uncle fled the car, leaving the door open. The struggle continued with Onfroy being in a state of confusion, yelling, "What is this for?" After failing to retrieve the chain from Onfroy's neck, Newsome then ran to get into Onfroy's car on the passenger side, where the door was left open. Newsome entered the passenger side of the vehicle and stole Onfroy's Louis Vuitton bag, containing $50,000, and ran back to the Dodge Journey. Despite the robbery being over, Boatwright walked back one or two feet away from Onfroy's vehicle, held his rifle, looked Onfroy in the eyes, and fired multiple shots, murdering him.
The perpetrators then fled the scene in the Dodge Journey. Accomplice Robert Allen stated at the other three perpetrators' trial that after the murder, Newsome asked Boatwright why he shot Onfroy, with Boatwright responding that he tried to grab his gun, though Boatwright's alleged claim was never supported, and at the perpetrators' trial it was confirmed that Onfroy had not provoked any of the perpetrators. Onfroy was later pronounced dead at 4:51 p.m. EDT that day. According to his autopsy, Onfroy was shot 3 times. 2 of the bullets entered his neck at a downward angle and reached inside his chest cavity. These bullets clipped the upper lobe of his left lung, and grazed his aorta. Apart from the injuries sustained in the attack, the autopsy reported that Onfroy was in overall very good health, as his cardiovascular and respiratory system were described as, "unremarkable", by the coroner. Onfroy tested negative for any drugs or alcohol in the toxicology report.
The shooting occurred east of the city of Parkland, where Onfroy was living at the time. The Broward County Fire Department rushed him to the nearby Broward Health North. Paramedics were able to briefly revive a pulse, but it was never regained. Onfroy was initially reported to be in critical condition following the shooting, but the Broward County Sheriff's Office later confirmed his death.
Arrests
Shortly following the announcement of Onfroy's death, the Broward County Sheriff's Office offered a $3,000 bounty for any information leading to the arrest of any suspects.On June 20, 2018, two days after the murder, the Broward County Sheriff's Office arrested 22-year-old Dedrick Devonshay Williams in connection with Onfroy's murder. Williams was driving in his silver 2004 Honda before a traffic stop occurred. Williams was detained in the car chase that followed. Williams was identified by clothing he wore on June 18, which included orange sandals and a white tank top. The police matched images from security footage to recent pictures from Williams' Instagram feed, which featured "the same or similar bright orange sandals". He was also identified by employees who said they saw him enter RIVA Motorsports to buy a neoprene mask. After Williams' arrest, two more active warrants were issued.
On June 27, 22-year-old Robert Allen was named as a person of interest in the case and was later arrested on July 26.
On July 5, 22-year-old Michael Boatwright was arrested by the Broward County Sheriff's Office on drug-related charges, but on July 10, Boatwright was visited by detectives while in jail and was presented with his arrest warrant for premeditated first-degree murder. Boatwright had searched for "accessory to murder" and "XXXTENTACION" on his phone's web browser after the murder. The former search term was later revealed by Allen to be because Boatwright was incorrectly reassuring Allen that he could only be charged with accessory to murder since Allen was not the triggerman. Boatwright was determined to be the one who fatally shot Onfroy. The three men were later indicted by a grand jury, alongside a fourth, for Onfroy's murder.
On August 7, 20-year-old Trayvon Newsome was arrested.
Legal proceedings
Dedrick Williams was charged with dangerous and depraved first-degree murder and probation violation and was denied bail. On June 25, he pleaded not guilty. Williams had been arrested multiple times prior.During Williams' interrogation, he reportedly went from denying he was involved in the killing to remorse, saying it had cost him "sleepless nights" and that he did not confess earlier due to fear of being labeled a "snitch".
On July 10, Michael Boatwright was arrested and charged with premeditated first-degree murder. According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Boatwright was initially arrested on unrelated drug charges on July 5 before he was formally charged with Onfroy's murder on July 10.
On July 25, a third suspect, Robert Allen, 22, was taken into custody and charged with premeditated first-degree murder after U.S. Marshals found him at his sister's house in rural Georgia. He was booked in Dodge County, Georgia, and was held without bond on a warrant from the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
On August 7, the Broward County Sheriff's Office announced on Twitter that Trayvon Newsome, 20, was taken into custody shortly before 5:00p.m. EST and had been booked on charges of premeditated first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon.
Jahseh Onfroy's father, Dwayne Onfroy, had stated that he wanted the death penalty for the shooter and life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the accomplices. Since the perpetrators were charged in Florida, if convicted of first-degree murder, they would have been eligible for capital punishment. However, the prosecution decided to seek life in prison without the possibility of parole over the death penalty.
On August 12, 2022, Robert Allen pleaded guilty to the lesser conviction of second-degree murder in exchange for testimony against the other three defendants.
In October 2022, Boatwright's attorneys began to claim that he was incompetent to stand trial and requested that psychological experts be appointed to determine Boatwright's legal competence. Boatwright was declared mentally competent to stand trial.
Trial
Trial judge Michael Usan ruled on January 17, 2023, that Onfroy's past criminal history and personal character were irrelevant to the crime and would not be permitted subjects at trial. The trial was initiated on February 7, 2023. Robert Allen had previously taken a plea deal for second-degree murder for his testimony against Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams. Boatwright's attorney claimed in his opening that the fact that Boatwright searched "accessory to murder" proved he was innocent, but this was later disproven by Allen, who said that Boatwright searched it because he misinformed Allen that Allen could only be charged with accessory rather than actual murder. A DNA analyst testified that Boatwright's DNA on the mask used in the murder was rarer than one in 929 nonillion.On March 20, 2023, the eighth day of jury deliberations, Boatwright and his two other co-defendants were found guilty on all counts. Boatwright made headlines for the fact that he blew a kiss to XXXTentacion's family after he was found guilty, with much of the public expressing disgust for Boatwright's conduct. On April 6, 2023, his two co-defendants were sentenced to a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole, while Boatwright received two consecutive terms of life without parole, plus another consecutive 30 years. The presiding judge, Michael Usan, expressed his condemnation of Boatwright at his sentencing, stating to him,
On March 20, 2023, all three defendants were found guilty on all counts. On April 6, 2023, they were all sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.