AP Spotlight
We’ve had to say goodbye to some beloved musicians, athletes, actors and more. Here's a look at the stars we've lost so far in 2024, through August.
LOS ANGELES — A man convicted of sending his 17-year-old son into a restaurant to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock was sentenced Monday to 31 years to life in prison.
Judge Connie Quinones handed down the sentence to Freddie Trone, 42, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. A jury on Aug. 7 found Trone guilty of one count of murder, two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Both sides at Trone's trial agreed that the teen walked into Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles in South Los Angeles in September 2022 and shot the Philadelphia hip-hop star, whose legal name is Rakim Allen, while robbing him of his jewelry as he ate with the mother of his 4-year-old daughter.
The prosecution said he was acting on his father's orders, while the defense, which plans to appeal, said Trone was only an accessory after the fact.
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"I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Rakim Allen," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. "His life was cut short by an act of violence that no family should have to endure."
Trone's attorney, Winston McKesson, said he disagreed with the judge. He said she declined at sentencing to give the reasons why his client was a "major participant" in the crime, as usually occurs.
He told The Associated Press after the sentencing there was no evidence that Trone was part of planning a killing, nor evidence he knew his son was armed. McKesson said a gun found with Allen was not sufficiently explained at trial, and the jury violated the judge's instructions by doing its own investigating with the evidence, including slowing down video they were shown in real time. He plans to file a notice of appeal.
Deannea Allen, the rapper's mother, traveled from their hometown of Philadelphia to give a statement in the Compton courtroom.
"I do not understand how a parent could directly put their child in danger. I just can't comprehend it. That one action had a ripple effect, and it has ruined many lives," Deannea Allen said, according to Rolling Stone. "Rakim was the shining light in our family. He was a star to us."
Trone's now-19-year-old son was also charged with murder but is in the custody of the juvenile system. A judge has found that he is not currently competent to stand trial.
The AP does not typically name minors who are accused of crimes.
PnB Rock was best known for his 2016 hit "Selfish" and for guest appearances on other artists' songs such as YFN Lucci's "Everyday We Lit" and Ed Sheeran's "Cross Me" with Chance the Rapper. He was 30.
Photos: Notable deaths in 2024
Glynis Johns
Adan Canto
Bud Harrelson
Dejan Milojevic
Jack Burke
Mary Weiss
Norman Jewison
Charles Osgood
Melanie Safka
Chita Rivera
Carl Weathers
Wayne Kramer
Ian Lavender
Toby Keith
Henry Fambrough
Bob Edwards
Don Gullett
Lefty Driesell
Andreas Brehme
Golden Richards
Richard Lewis
Brian Mulroney
Iris Apfel
Andy Russell
Ed Ott
Chris Mortensen
Paul Alexander
Thomas P. Stafford
Laurent de Brunhoff
Obit Angelos Baseball
Joe Lieberman
Louis Gossett Jr.
Jerry Grote
Schappell Twins
Peter Higgs
Ralph Puckett Jr.
O.J. Simpson
Robert MacNeil
Carl Erskine
Whitey Herzog
Dickey Betts
Mandisa
Bill Gladden
Duane Eddy
Steve Albini
Jimmy Johnson
Sean Burroughs
A.J. Smith
Dabney Coleman
Jim Otto
Morgan Spurlock
Richard M. Sherman
Albert Ruddy
Larry Allen
Parnelli Jones
Chet Walker
Nikolai Ryzhkov
Akira Toriyama
Steve Lawrence
Naomi Barber King
Chris Simon
M. Emmet Walsh
Joe Flaherty
John Sinclair
Larry Lucchino
Christopher Durang
Eleanor Coppola
Faith Ringgold
Steve Sloan
Ken Holtzman
Bob Graham
David Pryor
Roman Gabriel
Andrew Davis
Terry Anderson
Paul Auster
Dick Rutan
Roger Corman
David Sanborn
Obit Alice Munro
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
Ivan Boesky
Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek
Carlie Colin
Bill Walton
Janis Paige
The Rev. James Lawson Jr.
Jerry West
Ron Simons
Bob Schul
Willie Mays
Donald Sutherland
Bill Cobbs
Kinky Friedman
Martin Mull
Vic Seixas
James Inhofe
Jacoby Jones
Shannen Doherty
Pat Williams
Lou Dobbs
Abdul 'Duke' Fakir
Jack Russell
Chi Chi Rodriguez
Susan Wojcicki
Frank Selvy
Wally Amos
Gena Rowlands
Peter Marshall
Alain Delon
Al Attles
James Darren
Phil Donahue
Robert Towne
Joe Bonsall
Shelley Duvall
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Richard Simmons
James Sikking
Bob Newhart
Cheng Pei-Pei
Bernice Johnson Reagon
John Mayall
Erica Ash
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