BNB Rock's mother rolled her eyes and wiped away tears Monday as a prosecutor showed a photo of her son's autopsy during closing arguments in the trial of two men charged in connection with the rapper's 2022 killing.
“I wasn’t prepared for those pictures. They’re so devastating. I never wanted to see those pictures,” Diana Allen said. rolling stone When she left the courthouse in Compton, California, on the ninth and final day of testimony in the case, the mother said she only learned about the trial from social media and was “motivated” to travel from Philadelphia to attend the trial in person before it ended.
“I'm here for justice. I want justice. This was my son, my baby,” Diana said of the famous musician, born Rakim Allen. “I want the jury to know that he has a family that loves him and wants to support him. I learned a lot today.”
In his closing argument, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Timothy Richardson urged jurors to convict defendants Freddie Trone and Tremont Jones for their alleged roles in the high-profile murder. Richardson argued that Trone, 42, should be convicted of murder because he knew his 17-year-old son was “reckless” and “dangerous” and allegedly sent him to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in South Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2022, with a loaded semi-automatic firearm and ordered him to rob Allen and his fiancée.
Testifying in his own defense on Friday and again on Monday, Trone denied the prosecution’s claim that he was his son’s getaway driver. He testified that he left the Roscoe family’s parking lot in his Buick Enclave at about 1:14 p.m. that day, but that another driver was behind the wheel six minutes later when the car returned and his son jumped out and entered the Roscoe family’s home wearing a ski mask.
Trone’s defense attorney, Winston McKesson, said his client “vehemently denies” driving his teenage son to Roscoe before the shooting. Speaking to reporters Monday, McKesson said Trone claims he left the Roscoe parking lot, drove to his beauty supply store two minutes away, put his keys on the counter, went to use the bathroom and returned to find his keys and his son missing. McKesson said Trone claims that after the shooting, an unidentified individual in a burgundy SUV drove him to the parking lot where he located his son and other individuals in his Buick Enclave. The defense attorney also said Trone’s co-defendant, Tremont Jones, did not hand Trone a gun in the parking lot before the shooting, as prosecutors allege. McKesson said Trone insists that the item Jones retrieved and handed him under a towel on Roscoe’s surveillance camera was simply a bag of marijuana.
“His lies are ridiculous. This is ridiculous. The surveillance should speak for itself,” Diana said. rolling stone After hearing Trone's claims about the burgundy SUV, Richardson said jurors should ask why Trone “refused” to give the name of the person he drove the burgundy SUV to “find” his son.
“This is the same time as a robbery and a murder, and you don’t want to tell the jury who is who. [the driver] “Is that true? Because they don’t exist. It’s another lie,” Richardson argued Monday. “He wants you to accept what he says. He lies to you over and over again.”
McKesson told reporters that Trone refused to identify his driver to protect the person after Trone's wife, then his mistress, were charged as accomplices to the crime after it happened. Both women pleaded not guilty under plea deals.
“At least the women in this case took responsibility. The men didn’t try to deal with it. They tried to say they had nothing to do with it,” Diana scoffed outside the courtroom. “That’s unacceptable. My son was a lovely person. He tried to take care of everyone. The last time we spoke was for half an hour when he was on his way to California. He told me about all the good things he was doing. He was just trying to be better, to be more aware.”
McKesson and Jones’ defense attorneys are scheduled to make closing arguments in the case Tuesday. Trone and Jones have pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. Trone is charged with murder, two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. Jones faces two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy. The jury was informed Monday that Jones, 46, no longer faces the firearms charge that was mentioned during opening statements.
The alleged shooter in the case has been charged as a minor. rolling stone His prosecution was initially stayed because he was found to lack the competence to pursue criminal proceedings. On Monday, Richardson said during his closing argument that the teen had a mental health diagnosis, substance abuse issues and a criminal record. “Freddie Trone knew the dangers of sending his 17-year-old son out there with a ski mask, a semi-automatic weapon and a mission,” Richardson said. He said that during the testimony, Trone admitted, “My son is dangerous.” The prosecutor also alleged that Trone’s alleged setting of a Buick Enclave a few blocks from his residence and his alleged attempt to hide out in Las Vegas after the killings showed his “consciousness of guilt.”
Allen's shocking death shook the hip-hop community. The Philadelphia-born artist became a major star in 2016 with his triple-platinum single “Selfish.” That same year, rolling stone Dubbed the new artist you need to know, he went on to achieve huge fame with his 2019 hit “Cross Me” featuring Ed Sheeran.
After the killing, Allen’s fiancée Stephanie Sibonhiwang faced a barrage of online accusations that her post about their meal at Roscoe’s that day led the shooter to their location. When Sibonhiwang testified during the trial last week, the since-deleted post was shown to the jury. It did not specify where Roscoe was and only showed her food. “That social media post was a big deal, but if you think about it, in that post, there’s no picture of jewelry. There’s no picture of PnB Rock. All the universe knows is that Stephanie was with her friends. Stephanie was with her child. Stephanie was with her mother. That post doesn’t give you a reasonable inference, but the defense wants you to believe that the entire universe knew that PnB Rock was at [the Roscoe’s] In Manchester [Ave.] And the main [Street]”.”
In her harrowing testimony, Sibonhyuang gave her first-hand account of how the hip-hop star pushed her away to save her life when the young man opened fire on the couple inside the restaurant just minutes after they had gotten their food. She said the gunman appeared out of nowhere and demanded that the couple hand over their jewelry, estimated to be worth half a million dollars. She said the gunman told Allen that he would execute Sibonhyuang first if she did not comply.
“He said, ‘If you don’t give me the jewelry, I’ll blow her head off,’” Sibonhuang told jurors. She said the shooter asked her again, “Give me the damn jewelry,” and seemed “inexperienced,” like “a kid who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“The gun was pointed at my husband’s face, touching him,” she recalled. The only movements Allen made were to raise both hands in the air, palms facing out, before turning his attention to protecting her. “He got shot, pushed me against the wall and threw me under the table. [gunman] “He kept shooting. I was saying, 'Stop shooting at him, are you trying to kill him?'
Sibonhuang said the shooter leaned over and began removing jewelry from Allen’s body. She recalled reaching into her purse for her phone to call for help. “He said, ‘Woah, wow, what are you grabbing?’ He was pointing his gun at me,” she testified. “I think he thought I had a gun. I thought I was dead.”
