A man who sent his 17-year-old son to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock was sentenced Monday to 31 years to life in prison.
Freddie Trone, 42, was convicted Aug. 7 of murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He was the defense’s only witness, saying he “had nothing to do with it. I wasn’t there. I didn’t tell anybody not to do anything. I didn’t give anybody a gun.”
The defense plans to appeal, the Associated Press reported.
PnB Rock, whose legal name was Rakim Allen, entered Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles restaurant in South Los Angeles in September 2022 wearing “several hundred thousand dollars” worth of jewelry. He was targeted by Trone and another defendant, Tremont Jones, prosecutors said, possibly because of an Instagram post from his fiancée that geolocated them at the restaurant.
Freddie Trone’s lawyers reportedly plan to appeal.
(Los Angeles Police Department)
Trone sent his 17-year-old son into the restaurant with a gun and a ski mask to steal Allen’s jewelry. When the rapper refused, the teen shot him three times — once in the chest, then twice in the back — and then threatened his fiancée.
Trone’s son, now 19, was charged with murder as a juvenile and a judge ruled he was not fit to stand trial, AP reported.
According to Rolling Stone, Allen’s mother, Deannea, traveled from Philadelphia to attend the hearing. “As a parent, I don’t understand — and I’ve tried for two years — how a parent can directly put their child in harm’s way. I just can’t understand it. This action has had repercussions and ruined many lives,” she said in her victim impact statement.
“Rakim was the shining light in our family. He was a star to us… We are devastated,” she said.
