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The Los Angeles man convicted of sending his 17-year-old son into a restaurant for an armed robbery that claimed the life of celebrated rapper PnB Rock was sentenced Monday to 31 years to life in prison.

Freddie Trone, 42, appeared in a courtroom in Compton, California, to receive his punishment after a jury convicted him of felony murder, two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy following a nine-day trial last month. The jurors deliberated less than four hours before unanimously deciding that Trone planned the brazen robbery of the rapper,...

Updated, 1:25 Pm: Freddie Lee Trone, 42, has been sentenced to 31 years to life for the 2022 shooting death of PnB Rock. He was convicted last month in the robbery and murder of the rapper (real name Rakim Allen) at a South Los Angeles restaurant, after sending his teenage son inside to rob the victim.

Rock was eating lunch with his girlfriend at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles when he was approached by Trone’s 17-year-old son, who demanded the rapper’s expensive jewelry, which prosecutors say was worth “about a half a million dollars.” When Rock refused, prosecutors say, Trone’s son — who has not been ID’d publicly because of his age — shot the victim once in the chest and twice in the back before taking his jewelry and leaving the restaurant.

The son, now 19, is charged with murder but remains in juvenile court while he undergoes treatment to...

The man charged with sending his armed 17-year-old son into a Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles restaurant to rob celebrated rapper PnB Rock was found guilty of felony murder, two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy at a trial in Compton, Calif., on Wednesday.

The jury took less than four hours to decide Freddie Trone, 42, orchestrated the brazen daylight robbery that ultimately claimed the musician’s life. During nine days of testimony, jurors heard that the alleged teen shooter, charged separately in juvenile court, stalked into the restaurant wearing...

A critical and highly disputed six-minute timespan is at the heart of the PnB Rock murder trial that finished closing arguments Tuesday and is now in the hands of a jury in Compton, California.

Prosecutors say the six minutes between 1:14 p.m. and 1:20 p.m. on Sept. 12, 2022, was the time it took for murder defendant Freddie Trone, 42, to drive out of a Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles parking lot, arm his 17-year-old son with a semi-automatic gun, a ski mask, and a robbery plot, and then deliver the teen...

PnB Rock’s mother averted her eyes and wiped tears Monday as a prosecutor displayed an autopsy photo of her son during closing arguments in the trial of two men charged in connection with the rapper’s 2022 murder.

“I wasn’t prepared for those pictures. It’s very devastating. I never wanted to see those pictures,” Deannea Allen told Rolling Stone as she left the courthouse in Compton, Calif., on the ninth and final day of testimony in the case. The mother said she only learned about the start of...

The California teen charged with shooting and killing hip-hop star PnB Rock nearly two years ago appeared in a Los Angeles County courtroom Friday as the temporary judge overseeing his juvenile case agreed he was not yet competent to stand trial.

Wearing a bright orange detention center uniform, the teen, whose name is being withheld by Rolling Stone, sat quietly during the morning hearing in Compton. Prosecutors say he was 17-years-old when he walked into a Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles restaurant in South Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2022 and fired multiple...

Nearly two years after hip-hop star PnB Rock was gunned down inside a Roscoe’s Chicken ‘N Waffles in South Los Angeles, prosecutors showed an autopsy photo on a courtroom TV Tuesday as the two men facing charges related to his murder began their trial.

A jury of eight men and four women watched silently as Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Timothy Richardson gave his opening statement. The prosecutor walked the panel through a “roadmap” of the surveillance video he intends to play in their Compton, Calif., courtroom over the next two weeks.

Jussie Smollett acknowledged his legal difficulties Thursday at a Harlem premiere screening for his gay romantic drama “B-Boy Blues,” expressing gratitude for finishing his feature directorial debut despite his personal issues.

“Sometimes we all go through things, you know, but what I know for sure is I am so… if I don’t know nothin’, I know how blessed I am,” Smollett said in his first major public appearance since receiving a five-month prison sentence in March for lying to Chicago cops about a racist and homophobic 2019 attack. “I know how grateful I must be. It is not up for debate. I must be grateful. To the universe, to God, to our ancestors, whoever you want to believe it is.”

The former “Empire” acknowledged the challenges of making the film — based on the bestselling 1994 novel of the same name from author James Earl Hardy, who co-wrote the script along with Smollett.