In rapper PnB Rock’s South LA robber/shooting death, 1 man gets 31 years to life, another 12 years

By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH

COMPTON — A man convicted in connection with the robbery and shooting death of rapper PnB Rock at a South Los Angeles restaurant was sentenced Monday to just over 31 years to life in state prison.

Superior Court Judge Connie R. Quinones denied the defense’s motions for a new trial for Freddie Lee Trone or to vacate the jury’s murder verdict against the 42-year-old defendant involving the rapper’s Sept. 12, 2022, slaying.

The judge noted that Trone was “not the shooter” and that he didn’t go inside Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles on West Manchester Avenue, but said that “does not mean that you’re not accountable.”

Trone was convicted Aug. 7 of one count each of murder and conspiracy to commit robbery, along with two counts of second-degree robbery involving the 30-year-old rapper and his fiance, who were robbed of jewelry.

Co-defendant Tremont Jones, 46, who was convicted of two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery — but who was not charged with murder in the case — was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The defendants were charged along with Trone’s then-17-year-old son, whose case is currently in juvenile court.

The rapper’s mother, Deannea Allen, called her son “a shining light in our family,” saying “he was our Michael Jackson.”

“We’re all suffering, everybody, your family as well,” the victim’s mother told the defendant, who stood behind his attorney in the Compton courtroom. “I just really, really hope that you repent, and that you’re sorry for what you’ve done.”

The rapper’s aunt, Aqueelah Brown, called her nephew’s death a “devastating loss,” saying that “his life was taken in an act of senseless violence.”

“We are heartbroken, and our lives will never be the same,” she said.

In a statement read by Brown on her behalf, Brown’s niece wrote, “I truly hope that these thugs get everything they deserve … I truly hope that you suffer as much as we have.”

PnB Rock, whose real name is Rakim Allen, was shot once in the chest and two times in the back by an assailant in a ski mask who demanded jewelry as the rapper and his girlfriend ate lunch.

Deputy District Attorney Timothy Richardson told the jury that Trone “sent his son out on a coordinated act to rob watches, rings and chains off of a person,” while defense attorney Winston McKesson countered that Trone’s teenage son acted independently from his dad and that the “only conclusion that is consistent with justice is that Freddie Trone is not guilty of these charges.”

The prosecutor told jurors that the motive for the crime was “about a half a million dollars worth of jewelry,” arguing that Trone drove his son to and from the restaurant but never set foot inside the business himself while the rapper was there.

The prosecution alleged that Jones fist-bumped the rapper at the restaurant and then passed information on to Trone about what jewelry the entertainer was wearing.

Richardson noted “how difficult it is to accept that a father would put his son up to this.”

The prosecutor told jurors that Trone, his son and Jones had “coordinated actions” that were “not a coincidence.”

Trone vigorously proclaimed his innocence from the witness stand, telling jurors, “I wasn’t there. I didn’t tell nobody to do nothing.”

Trone testified that his son and his own vehicle went missing, and that he subsequently found his son in the vehicle with three other “youngsters.”

Trone’s attorney told jurors that there was “no evidence of a conspiracy” to rob the rapper and accused investigators of making up their minds about “who they thought was guilty” and “looking only for evidence that pointed to guilt” while ignoring anything that pointed to his client’s innocence.

“You have no evidence that my client planned anything,” McKesson said, telling jurors that the prosecution’s goal was to get them to “dislike” Trone.

The defense attorney told reporters outside court that he believes his client wouldn’t have been charged with murder had he not lived in the area and been African-American, saying that he would have been charged with being an accessory after the fact if it had happened in Beverly Hills.

After the verdict, McKesson told City News Service that he was “disappointed” with the trial’s outcome and vowed that Trone would appeal his conviction.

The defense attorney said that when the panel returned with a verdict after deliberating for just 90 minutes, “I knew they didn’t even listen to my argument or my client’s testimony.”

Before the verdict, Jones’ attorney called the case “so thin,” saying that the idea that his client was aiding and abetting the crime “doesn’t hold.”

Trone’s son was arrested in September 2022, and his father was subsequently arrested in Las Vegas and returned to Los Angeles County in October 2022, while Jones was taken into custody in May 2023, according to jail records.

PnB Rock, from Philadelphia, gained initial recognition for his 2016 single, “Selfish,” which sold more than 2 million copies.