FORT LAUDERDALE – Jurors in the trial of a few males accused of murdering growing rap star XXXTentacion concluded their fourth working day of deliberations Monday by examining virtually 1,200 text messages and a number of films and photographs seized from two of their cellphones.
Some of the movies and shots showed the defendants flashing fistfuls of $100 bills several hours immediately after the June 18, 2018, shooting of XXXTentacion outside a suburban Fort Lauderdale motorcycle dealership. He was killed by two armed robbers who stole $50,000 he was carrying in a Louis Vuitton bag.
There was also a photo of a tale from a news site about the capturing, images from shopping and relationship applications, an evidently random image of then-initial woman Melania Trump, video clips of just one defendant in a pedicab with a woman and a Father’s Day greeting.
The jurors produced their ask for in the afternoon, asking to see the details from the phones of alleged shooter Michael Boatwright, 28, and the accused getaway driver and ringleader Dedrick Williams, 26, from the working day just before and day of the shooting.
Williams sent and received more than 950 textual content messages throughout that time and Boatwright had extra than 200. Jurors had to group close to a projection display at the entrance of the courtroom to examine them they could not be go through from the gallery.
The jurors did not inquire for any info from the phones of alleged 2nd gunman Trayvon Newsome, 24, or alleged co-conspirator Robert Allen, 26. Allen testified towards his previous pals after pleading guilty final yr to second-degree murder.
Boatwright, Williams and Newsome are charged with initially-diploma murder and armed theft and experience obligatory everyday living sentences if convicted. Prosecutors did not search for the death penalty. The jurors have deliberated about 15 hrs considering that obtaining the situation late Wednesday at the finish of 4-months of testimony. Deliberations will resume Tuesday.
XXXTentacion, whose actual name was Jahseh Onfroy, had just still left Riva Motorsports, where he experienced been hunting at bikes to order, when his BMW was blocked by an SUV that swerved in entrance.
Surveillance movie confirmed that two masked gunmen emerged and confronted the 20-yr-old rapper at the driver’s window, and just one shot him continuously. They then grabbed the bag with the cash, bought again into the SUV and sped absent. The good friend was not harmed.
Allen testified that the males established out that day to dedicate robberies and went to the motorcycle shop to get Williams a mask. There they noticed the rapper and resolved to make him their concentrate on. Allen and Williams went inside of the store to affirm it was him.
They then went back to the SUV they had rented, waited for XXXTentacion to arise and ambushed him, according to testimony. Prosecutors mentioned surveillance video from the dealership, cellphone information and the movies of the guys flashing funds ties them to the shooting.
The men’s lawyers stated Allen is lying and that their DNA was not found on the artist. Lawyers for some of the males explained that though the money-flashing video clips have been “silly,” they you should not establish their consumers have been truly associated in the capturing and theft.
The rapper was a platinum-promoting soaring star who tackled problems like prejudice and depression in his tunes. He also drew criticism above negative habits and a number of arrests, together with charges that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend.
