The man who ordered rapper PnB Rock’s murder has been sentenced 31 years to life in prison.
Rock (real name Rakim Hasheem Allen) died aged 30 in September 2022 when he was fatally shot at South Los Angeles’ Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles restaurant. The artist had been dining at the restaurant with his girlfriend, Stephanie Sibounheuang.
Freddie Lee Trone was identified as a person of interest weeks later, with Trone’s 17-year-old son also being arrested for acting as an alleged getaway driver. A woman named Shauntel Trone was also arrested on suspicion of accessory to the murder.
Now, after being convicted for robbery and murder last month, Trone has been sentenced to 31 years to life for sending his son to rob Rock, leading to his death (as per Deadline).
Trone’s son is alleged to have demanded Rock hand over his expensive jewellery, estimated by the prosecution to be worth “about a half a million dollars”. According to prosecutors, Trone’s son shot Rock once in the chest and twice in the back when Rock refused to give him his jewellery. It is the prosecution’s case that after murdering Rock, Trone’s son went on to take his jewellery and leave the restaurant.
Trone’s son, now 19, is currently charged with murder in a juvenile court and is undergoing treatment to discern whether he is mentally competent to stand trial.
Meanwhile, 46-year-old Tremont Jones, who was arrested in November 2023 in connection to the case, was found guilty of two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. He was not charged with murder. Jones was handed a 12-year sentence for his crimes.
Shauntel Trone also pleaded no contest to accessory, and is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
Rock is best known for his 2016 hit ‘Selfish’, and went on to feature on on Ed Sheeran‘s 2019 single ‘Cross Me’ alongside Chance The Rapper. He is survived by two daughters.