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Three Arrested In Fatal Shooting, Robbery Of Rapper PnB Rock In Los Angeles
Freddie Lee Trone, his wife Shauntel Trone and his underage son were all arrested in connection to the Sept. 12 shooting at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles.
A Los Angeles man, his wife and his underage son are all in jail facing charges related to the deadly shooting and robbery of a rapper earlier this month.
Philadelphia-born rapper PnB Rock, whose given name was Rakim Hasheem Allen, was shot and killed for his jewelry on the afternoon of Sept. 12 while eating at the Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles in South Los Angeles with his long-time partner, Stephanie Sibounheuang, who is also the mother of one of his children. The gunman took off in a waiting car.
Rock, 30, was transferred to a hospital but succumbed to his extensive injuries.
Shauntel Trone, 38, and the unnamed 17-year-old were arrested on Tuesday in Gardena and Lawndale, respectively, for their alleged roles in the shooting, according to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department. Freddie Lee Trone, 40, was apprehended on Thursday in Las Vegas by an FBI-led fugitive team.
RELATED: Philadelphia Rapper PnB Rock Shot, Killed At Roscoe's Chicken And Waffles In L.A.
Freddie Lee Trone was charged with one count of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of second-degree robbery. His son was charged in juvenile court with one count of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of second-degree robbery. Shauntel Trone is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact.
The teenager is accused of being the person who shot Rock, and his father is accused of driving the getaway car, according to the L.A. Times. It is unclear what role, specifically, Shauntel Trone — the boy's stepmother — is accused of playing in the case.
Los Angeles officials are seeking Trone's extradition from Nevada.
According to law enforcement sources who spoke to the Times, the suspects were parked in the Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles parking lot when they saw Rock, who was wearing the jewelry, and Sibounheuang arrived for their meal. (Police sources and others had previously speculated the two were targeted after Rock posted pictures of his jewelry and Sibounheuang posted a geotagged picture of their meal to Instagram, igniting a firestorm of unwarranted criticism against the grieving witness.)
The criminal complaint reviewed by the Times alleged that the teenage boy put on a mask, entered the restaurant, went directly to Rock's table and pointed a gun at him.
“Give me all of your jewelry now,” he allegedly said to the rapper, before allegedly shooting him once in the chest and, after Rock fell to the ground, twice more in the back. He then allegedly pointed the gun at Sibounheuang and threatened to shoot her in the head before ripping Rock's jewelry from his body. The teenager allegedly stole the rapper's necklaces, rings and watches as well as a watch from Sibounheuang, according to L.A. ABC affiliate KABC.
He then allegedly left the restaurant and drove off with his waiting father.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles told the paper that they have not yet decided whether to charge the 17-year-old as an adult.
"The office will not comment on the minor’s suitability for juvenile court without a thorough review of his background, the law and the circumstance surrounding the case," L.A. County district attorney spokesperson Tiffiny Blacknell told the paper.
According to L.A. Fox affiliate KTTV, authorities said the teenager was "out on parole or probation at the time of the shooting" and had an ankle monitor that "apparently was not being monitored."
Los Angeles County D.A. George Gascón had initially barred prosecutors from charging juveniles as adults when he took office, but allowed for the office to consider exceptions to that blanket policy earlier this year, according to the Times.
"The selective transfers of juveniles to the adult court system will only be in the most egregious cases that warrant a state prison commitment, where it is abundantly clear the minor poses a danger to the public and has serious difficulty controlling their dangerous behavior in line with the evaluation for extended Secure Youth Treatment Facility detention," he wrote in a February memo about the policy change, according to KABC.
The policy created a new committee in the department to decide whether to transfer a case from juvenile to adult court after a recommendation is made by the prosecutor, the deputy-in-charge, the assistant head deputy and the head deputy of the Juvenile Division.
The teen is due back in juvenile court on Oct. 19.
Rock — whose name refers to the northwest Philadelphia intersection Pastorius and Baynton, where he grew up — is survived by his two daughters and his girlfriend, Sibounheuang.
Rock first gained recognition with the 2014 release of his mixtape, which was based on lyrics he wrote while incarcerated. Atlantic Records subsequently signed him to a deal under which he released two more mixtapes; those included the singles "Fleek" (2015) and "Selfish" (2016). The latter hit 51 on Billboard's Hot 100.
He was featured on Atlanta-based rapped YFN Lucci's single “Everyday We Lit" in 2016, which hit 33 on the Hot 100 and is both artists' highest-charting song.
Rock subsequently recorded two singles for the soundtrack for "The Fate of the Furious" (the eighth "Fast and the Furious" movie) in 2017. He released his first studio album, "TrapStar Turnt PopStar," in 2019.
Rock then contributed to the single "Cross Me," from British pop star Ed Sheeran's 2019 album, "No.6 Collaborations Project," with Chance the Rapper. In January 2020, he released a single with L.A.-based rapper Pop Smoke, "Ordinary"; Pop Smoke was killed a month later in a home invasion robbery allegedly connected to a geotagged social media post, Oxygen.com reported at the time.
Rock's last single, "Luv Me Again," was released on Sept. 2.
