Tuesday, September 24, 2024 - A man convicted in the murder and robbery of American rapper PnB Rock at a famous Los Angeles eatery has been sentenced to 31 years to life in prison.
A jury convicted Freddie Lee Trone, 42, last
month of one count of murder, two counts of robbery, and one count of
conspiracy to commit robbery. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Connie
Quinones read his sentence Monday at the Compton Courthouse.
Prosecutors said Trone ordered his son, then
17, to rob the rapper, who was dining with his 4-year-old daughter's mother at
Roscoe’s Chicken ’N Waffles, a branch of an eatery popular with celebrities, in
South Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2022.
Los Angeles police said at the time that an
armed robber approached PnB Rock, whose real name was Rakim Hasheem Allen
argued with him, robbed him of jewellery, and opened fire, killing him.
The teenager was charged with murder and is
being held in a juvenile facility after a judge ruled he is not competent to
stand trial.
Trone's defence attorney, Winston McKesson,
said he plans to appeal the conviction, which he can do after sentencing. He
argued there is no evidence, from physical items to communication, tying the
father to the crime.
"There's no evidence he supplied the
gun, planted the gun or knew his son had a gun," he said by phone.
The day of the murder, PnB Rock posted a
photo to his dining companion's Instagram account reflecting his presence at
Roscoe's and may have also revealed his location to the public, then-Los
Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said the day after the crime.
The post was deleted before NBC News was
able to verify it.
Moore said an "extensive amount"
of jewellery was taken from PnB Rock in the deadly robbery.
Another defendant, Tremont Jones, 46,
was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of two counts of
robbery and one count of conspiracy in connection with the case.
Shauntel Trone, Freddie Lee's wife, was the
owner of a vehicle that police and prosecutors alleged was connected to the
violence. She pleaded no contest to being an accessory to the crime after the
fact, according to the district attorney's office. Sentencing in her case was
scheduled for Jan. 16.
On Monday, Los Angeles County District
Attorney George Gascón said in a statement that Trone affirms that justice will
prevail for PnB Rock's loved ones.
"His life was cut short by an act of
violence that no family should have to endure," Gascón said.
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