Judge Michael Usan, who oversaw the murder trial of hip-hop artist XXXTentacion, revealed the court’s shock on Thursday at the behavior of convicted killer Dedrick Williams. BuzzFeed News reported that prosecutors presented photo and video evidence showing the 26-year-old dancing with the money he stole immediately following the crime before spending it the next day.
“The very next day, when you went to spend that blood money on sneakers and jerseys,” Usan said, “you revealed to the court the value you place on the human life that was taken to a pair of sneakers.”
This sentencing comes nearly five years after the murder of South Florida rapper XXXTentacion. The jury found 28-year-old Michael Boatwright, 24-year-old Trayvon Newsome and Williams guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery. In June 2018, the controversial rapper was killed in Miami when the trio approached his BMW as he left a motorsports dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida, robbing the father-of-one and fatally shooting him multiple times.
XXXTentacion’s album, ?, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart in March 2018, according to Variety. The 20-year-old rapper, whose legal name was Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, rose to fame from the SoundCloud rap scene, giving fans everything from punk rock-inspired hip-hop to somber R&B-style songs and even heavy metal.
In the years before his untimely death, he released various chart-topping hits, such as “SAD!” and “Changes,” along with his studio album 17. However, he was also notorious for his legal troubles, including domestic violence accusations, armed home invasion robbery, aggravated battery and even witness tampering.
Allen testified the trio learned of the rapper’s presence inside the store and blocked the parking lot’s exit in preparation for stealing from him. Williams was the alleged getaway driver while Newsome and Boatright robbed the rapper until Boatright opened fire.
According to a Complex report, lead prosecutor Pascale Achille said of the men as jurors watched video evidence, along with text threads and social media posts:
“This is who they are. This is their real character. Killers that within 24 hours after shooting the victim dead and stealing $50,000 from him, this is what they do. Look at how happy they look. Look at how excited they look,” Achille said.
This comes on the heels of the 20-year-old unnamed defendant who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery of another rapper’s murder, artist Pop Smoke.
