Prosecutors have filed murder charges against two people — including a suspect arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday — in the brazen daytime robbery and murder of Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock at a restaurant in South Los Angeles, authorities said.
For memory :
8:30 p.m. September 29, 2022An earlier version of this article stated that three people had been charged with murder. A man and a teenager have been charged with murder. A third suspect faces other charges.
Freddie Lee Trone, 40, and a 17-year-old boy have been charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. A third suspect, Shauntel Trone, 38, has been charged with theft and accessory after the fact.
The teenager, who has not been identified due to his age, fired the shot that killed the rapper, according to a criminal complaint made public Thursday.
Shauntel Trone and the teenager were arrested on Tuesday, and an FBI-led task force captured Freddie Lee Trone in Las Vegas around 1 p.m. Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Freddie Lee and Shauntel Trone are married, said Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. The teenager is the son of Freddie Lee Trone, according to law enforcement sources who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with the media. The teenager and Shauntel Trone are not related, Risling said.
Rock, 30, real name Rakim Allen, was at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles on Manchester Avenue with his girlfriend, Stephanie Sibounheuang, on September 12 when the assailants approached their table and demanded jewelry and other valuables. . The jewelry was valued at “several hundred thousand dollars,” according to the criminal complaint.
While some have expressed concern that Rock may have been targeted after his girlfriend posted a photo on Instagram showing they were at the chicken restaurant, law enforcement sources told The Times that Freddie Lee Trone and his son were in the Roscoe’s parking lot before any social media posts related to the rapper’s presence there were released.
The teenager approached Rock wearing a mask, pointed a gun at him and yelled, “Give me all your jewelry now,” according to the complaint. Prosecutors allege he shot the rapper once in the chest as he sat at a table and then twice more in the back.
Seconds later, the teenager allegedly threatened to shoot Sibounheuang in the head and removed several jewels from Rock’s body.
The teenager appeared in juvenile court on Thursday and it was not immediately clear whether prosecutors would seek to try him as an adult.
“The decision whether or not to transfer a minor to adult court is not taken lightly,” said Tiffiny Blacknell, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. “The office will not comment on the minor’s suitability for trial in juvenile court without a thorough review of their background, the law and the circumstances surrounding the case.”
No court date has been set for Freddie Lee Trone, but prosecutors have said they will immediately seek to extradite him from Nevada. Shauntel Trone was due to stand trial Thursday at Compton Courthouse.
District of Los Angeles County. Atti. George Gascón banned his prosecutors from trying minors as adults when he took office, but paved the way for exceptions to that policy this year.
Rock’s ability to mix melodies with its rap makes it a natural candidate for modern hip-hop. He shot to national prominence with 2015’s single “Fleek,” turning Vine’s viral video into an anthem for women across the country. He then collaborated with a host of artists, including Ed Sheeran and Chance the Rapper on “Cross Me.”
Times writer Kenan Drauhorne contributed to this report.
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