Nearly two years after rapper PnB Rock was shot and killed at a South Los Angeles restaurant during a robbery, a man has been convicted of his murder.
Freddie Lee Trone was found guilty Wednesday by a jury in a Compton courtroom after deliberating for less than four hours, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. In addition, Trone and another defendant, Tremont Jones, were convicted of two counts of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
For the record:
16:38 August 7, 2024An earlier version of this article stated that Tremont Jones and Freddie Lee Trone were found guilty of murder. Only Trone was convicted of murder.
PnB Rock, 30, whose legal name was Rakim Allen, walked into Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles on Sept. 12, 2022, with jewelry worth “several hundred thousand dollars,” prosecutors said. The jewelry caught the attention of Jones, who authorities say set the deadly robbery in motion.
Jones informed Trone about the potential target, and Trone then sent his 17-year-old son, armed with a gun and a ski mask, into the restaurant to steal Allen's jewelry, prosecutors said.
Authorities allege the masked teen approached Allen as he sat at a table, pulled out a gun and demanded his jewelry and other valuables.
But Allen refused, prosecutors said, and that’s when the teen shot him first in the chest and then twice more in the back. The teen, who was not identified because of his age, threatened to shoot Allen’s fiancée, Stephanie Sibounheuang, and stole several pieces of jewelry from Allen’s body before fleeing the restaurant with his father, according to a criminal complaint filed against the boy weeks after the killing.
After the verdict was read, Allen's mother, Deannea, told Rolling Stone magazine: “I wanted to jump up and down and scream, 'Hallelujah.' I'm so happy it was quick. We got justice for Rakim. I feel better knowing they're going to be in jail for a long time.”
Trone, 42, repeatedly denied involvement in the shooting during his murder trial, according to the Associated Press.
“I understand you’re trying to piece together your story,” Trone said during cross-examination Monday. “I never had anything to do with it. I wasn’t there. I didn’t tell anybody not to do anything. I didn’t hand a gun to anybody.”
She testified during the trial that she was at Roscoe's to “soligate” business for her beauty supply store and to buy marijuana.
Trone was the only defense witness called to testify. He admitted that the robbery was “heinous” and that his son, who has not yet been tried, was “dangerous,” AP reported.
Deputy District Attorney Timothy Richardson stressed during the trial that even someone who does not pull the trigger can be guilty of felony murder when he or she is a “principal participant” who acted with “reckless indifference to human life.”
“Robbery is inherently dangerous,” Richardson said. “It’s very personal and very close to home.”
Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 27, and the teen is scheduled to undergo a mental competency procedure on Aug. 28. Co-defendant Shauntel Trone pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting in July and is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
