Freddie Trone, charged in connection with the 2022 murder of PnB Rock, pushed back against the allegations he's facing while on the stand this week.
As detailed in a recent Associated Press report, Trone, whose son, then 17, is alleged to have been the one who fatally shot Rock in Los Angeles, asserted in court on Monday that he "had nothing to do with" what transpired that day. Trone’s attorney, meanwhile, is reportedly set to highlight what’s argued to be a lack of footage proving that the 42-year-old was behind the wheel of his SUV at the time of the murder.
"I never had nothing to do with it," Trone said, per AP. "I wasn’t there. I didn’t tell nobody to do nothing. I didn’t hand nobody no gun."
Rock, 30, was killed during a robbery at a Roscoe's location in the South Los Angeles area on Sept. 12, 2022. By the end of that month, three people—Freddie Trone, Shauntel Trone, and a 17-year-old who was not initially named in a Los Angeles County District Attorney press release—had been charged in connection with the murder. Freddie and his son were both charged at the time with murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, and second-degree robbery. Shauntel, meanwhile, was charged with accessory after the fact.
Those in court this week were also shown surveillance footage, including video of what’s alleged to be Trone in the Roscoe's parking lot an estimated 30 minutes prior to Rock’s murder. However, Trone alleges his vehicle went missing before the deadly shooting, due to his son and several other individuals having taken it. Footage played in court this week also showed the same SUV dropping off the teen suspect, only to pick him up again shortly after.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has gone on record as calling Rock's murder "heartless and cruel." As Gascón said when first announcing charges in the case, the killing "robbed the world of [Rock’s] talents."
As of last month, the alleged shooter was still not fit to stand trial, at least not in the eyes of the court.
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