It’s a story straight out of Compton—the father of a 17-year-old boy is facing murder charges after, it is alleged, he sent his teenage son to an LA restaurant to murder hip-hop artist PnB Rock.
The cross-examination of defendant Freddie Trone by the Compton prosecutor got spicy, with the defendant telling the prosecutor that the state was “trying to put your story together.” Trone said. “I never had anything to do with it,” he continued, using the same ungrammatical speech to deny having told his son anything and denying having given his son a gun.
That exchange would not have happened if Trone’s defense attorney had not taken the highly unusual move of putting his client on the stand. For such cases, lawyers rarely advise defendants to speak for themselves, as many end up making themselves look guilty before the jury and the court.
The tension escalated, too. Trone began shouting at Timothy Richard, Deputy District Attorney. He asked the prosecutor how his questions were “relevant” and accused the state of “trying to tie me to something.” Losing his temper, Trone shouted that he was asking these questions “for the fifth time!”
Trone is charged with murder, second-degree robbery, and of conspiracy to commit robbery. His son, who has not been named, is apparently in the juvenile court system, but has not yet faced trial.
Rapper PnB was shot to death on September 12, 2022. The prosecution used video surveillance footage to show what happened at the Chicken and Waffles restaurant where the killing took place. Trone could be seen on the tape, but claims he was only in the area to draw business to his nearby salon.
Trone admits that his son killed the rapper, and described the act as “heinous,” saying his son is “dangerous.” But he denied claims that he encouraged or ordered his son to do the killing.
The prosecution contends that he did all of those things, and that he shares responsibility for the killing as a “major participant” in the crime who was indifferent to the rapper’s life or death.
Trone’s lawyers are set to begin putting on their defense case soon. Lawyer Winston McKesson said he will demonstrate the state has no evidence of communication between Trone and his teen son.
