Father, teenage son charged in killing of rapper PnB Rock
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Freddie Lee Trone. Trone, 40, who has yet to be arrested, and his son, who was taken into custody Tuesday, were each charged with one count of murder, two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.
OWEN SWEENEY/INVISION/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock performs at the 2018 Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Del., in June 2018. The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Allen, was fatally shot during a robbery in South Los Angeles, Sept. 12. He is best known for his 2016 hit “Selfish.” He released his latest song, “Luv Me Again,” on Sept. 2.
LOS ANGELES >> A man who was arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday, and his 17-year-old son, were charged with murder in the fatal shooting of rapper PnB Rock at a South Los Angeles restaurant, authorities said.
An FBI-led fugitive task force took 40-year-old Freddie Lee Trone into custody at about 1 p.m., Los Angeles police said. He had been charged earlier in the day with one count of murder, two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, the District Attorney’s Office said. His son, who was arrested Tuesday, was charged with the same counts.
Trone’s 38-year-old wife, Shauntel Trone, the boy’s stepmother, was also arrested Tuesday and was charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact to the killing. She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Thursday.
The teen, who remains jailed, made an initial appearance in juvenile court and was told to return next month. It is not clear when Freddie Lee Trone will appear in court for an extradition hearing, or whether any of the defendants have retained attorneys.
PnB Rock, the 30-year-old Philadelphia hip-hop artist whose legal name is Rakim Allen, was gunned down Sept. 13 at Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles while eating with his girlfriend. A robber approached their table and demanded items from the rapper, according to investigators.
The robber took items from the victim and fled in a car that was waiting in the parking lot, police said. Rock was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Rock was best known for his 2016 hit “Selfish” and for making guest appearances on other artists’ songs such as YFN Lucci’s “Everyday We Lit” and Ed Sheeran’s “Cross Me” with Chance the Rapper. His latest track, “Luv Me Again,” was released Sept. 2.
