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Man pleads not guilty to charge of fatally shooting rapper PnB Rock
The Industry Oct 19, 2022
PnB Rock. | Photo courtesy of DeShaun Craddock/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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A man who was arrested in Las Vegas in connection with the shooting death of rapper PnB Rock at the South Los Angeles Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges.
Freddie Lee Trone, 40, and his teenage son are charged with one count each of murder and conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts each of second-degree robbery involving the Sept. 12 killing of Rakim Allen, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The 30-year-old rapper was shot at the restaurant at 106 W. Manchester Ave., near Main Street, where he was eating lunch with his girlfriend.
Police said a male suspect walked up to the couple, drew a handgun, demanded PnB Rock’s jewelry, and shot him.
TMZ and Fox11 reported that Freddie Trone is believed to have been the getaway driver following the shooting, allegedly carried out by his teen son. TMZ reported that the pair later burned the vehicle used during the crime.
TMZ and Fox11 also reported that Freddie Trone and his son were already in the restaurant parking lot when PnB Rock arrived, contradicting earlier suggestions that social media posts by the rapper and his girlfriend showing his jewelry and tagging their location led to the robbery and shooting.
Witnesses said an argument occurred during the heist, culminating in the shooting, which was captured on the restaurant’s video surveillance system.
The rapper died at a hospital.
Freddie Trone was returned from Nevada to Los Angeles County on Tuesday, according to jail records.
A third defendant, Shauntel Trone, 38, pleaded not guilty Sept. 29 to one count of being an accessory after the fact.
ABC7 reported that she is the teen suspect’s stepmother. She was freed on bond less than a week after her Sept. 27 arrest, according to jail records.
The two adult defendants are due back in a Compton courtroom Nov. 18, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to allow the case against them to proceed to trial.
No update was immediately available involving the case of the juvenile, who was 17 at the time of his arrest Sept. 27.
