In rapper PnB Rock’s South LA theft/capturing demise, 1 man will get 31 years to life, one other 12 years

By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH

COMPTON — A person convicted in reference to the theft and capturing demise of rapper PnB Rock at a South Los Angeles restaurant was sentenced Monday to only over 31 years to life in state jail.

Superior Court Judge Connie R. Quinones denied the protection’s motions for a brand new trial for Freddie Lee Trone or to vacate the jury’s homicide verdict towards the 42-year-old defendant involving the rapper’s Sept. 12, 2022, slaying.

The judge famous that Trone was “not the shooter” and that he didn’t go inside Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles on West Manchester Avenue, however stated that “doesn’t imply that you simply’re not accountable.”

Trone was convicted Aug. 7 of 1 depend every of homicide and conspiracy to commit theft, together with two counts of second-degree theft involving the 30-year-old rapper and his fiance, who have been robbed of knickknack.

Co-defendant Tremont Jones, 46, who was convicted of two counts of second-degree theft and one depend of conspiracy to commit theft — however who was not charged with homicide within the case — was sentenced to 12 years in jail.

The defendants have been charged together with Trone’s then-17-year-old son, whose case is presently in juvenile court docket.

The rapper’s mom, Deannea Allen, known as her son “a shining mild in our household,” saying “he was our Michael Jackson.”

“We’re all struggling, all people, your loved ones as nicely,” the sufferer’s mom instructed the defendant, who stood behind his legal professional within the Compton courtroom. “I simply actually, actually hope that you simply repent, and that you simply’re sorry for what you’ve finished.”

The rapper’s aunt, Aqueelah Brown, known as her nephew’s demise a “devastating loss,” saying that “his life was taken in an act of mindless violence.”

“We are heartbroken, and our lives won’t ever be the identical,” she stated.

In an announcement learn by Brown on her behalf, Brown’s niece wrote, “I actually hope that these thugs get the whole lot they deserve … I actually hope that you simply undergo as a lot as we’ve.”

PnB Rock, whose actual identify is Rakim Allen, was shot as soon as within the chest and two occasions within the again by an assailant in a ski masks who demanded jewellery because the rapper and his girlfriend ate lunch.

Deputy District Attorney Timothy Richardson instructed the jury that Trone “despatched his son out on a coordinated act to rob watches, rings and chains off of an individual,” whereas protection legal professional Winston McKesson countered that Trone’s teenage son acted independently from his dad and that the “solely conclusion that’s per justice is that Freddie Trone will not be responsible of those expenses.”

The prosecutor instructed jurors that the motive for the crime was “a couple of half one million {dollars} price of knickknack,” arguing that Trone drove his son to and from the restaurant however by no means set foot contained in the enterprise himself whereas the rapper was there.

The prosecution alleged that Jones fist-bumped the rapper on the restaurant after which handed data on to Trone about what jewellery the entertainer was sporting.

Richardson famous “how tough it’s to just accept {that a} father would put his son as much as this.”

The prosecutor instructed jurors that Trone, his son and Jones had “coordinated actions” that have been “not a coincidence.”

Trone vigorously proclaimed his innocence from the witness stand, telling jurors, “I wasn’t there. I didn’t inform no person to do nothing.”

Trone testified that his son and his personal automobile went lacking, and that he subsequently discovered his son within the automobile with three different “kids.”

Trone’s legal professional instructed jurors that there was “no proof of a conspiracy” to rob the rapper and accused investigators of constructing up their minds about “who they thought was responsible” and “wanting just for proof that pointed to guilt” whereas ignoring something that pointed to his consumer’s innocence.

“You haven’t any proof that my consumer deliberate something,” McKesson stated, telling jurors that the prosecution’s objective was to get them to “dislike” Trone.

The protection legal professional instructed reporters exterior court docket that he believes his consumer wouldn’t have been charged with homicide had he not lived within the space and been African-American, saying that he would have been charged with being an adjunct after the actual fact if it had occurred in Beverly Hills.

After the decision, McKesson instructed City News Service that he was “dissatisfied” with the trial’s end result and vowed that Trone would attraction his conviction.