Man sentenced in shooting death of Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock at chicken spot in California
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (WPVI) -- A man accused of sending his 17-year-old son to kill Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock at a Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles restaurant in South Los Angeles was sentenced to over 31 years to life in prison on Monday.
Freddie Lee Trone was convicted last month in the murder of the rapper, whose real name is Rakim Hasheem Allen. The jury found that Trone ordered his teen son to rob PnB Rock at the restaurant back in 2022.
Trone's son was armed with a gun. He is still awaiting trial.
Before he was killed, the rapper was sitting at a table with his girlfriend - who had already posted a picture of their food and their location on Instagram.
According to court testimony, he was wearing a few hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry at the time. He was shot and killed, then his jewelry was stolen.
Before the sentence was handed down Monday, PnB Rock's mother delivered a victim impact statement in the courtroom and directly addressed Trone.
"Rakim was a shining light in our family. He was a star to us. He was our Michael Jackson and we are devastated," said Deanna Allen. "We are trying to live with this, but it's very hard. It's very hard."
The second person to speak was the late rapper's aunt.
"He worked very hard for everything he achieved, always trying to provide for his mom and his four brothers to create a better future," said Aqueelah Brown. "But in an instant, his life was stolen, leaving a void that will never be filled."
Tremont Jones, the second defendant in the case, was sentenced to 12 years on several robbery charges.
Trone's attorney asked for a new trial in the case, but the motion was denied.
