PnB Rock’s Mother Cries In Court, Demands Justice Following Closing Arguments In Murder Trial
PnB Rock’s mother, Deanna Allen, is speaking out following closing arguments being delivered in her son’s murder trial. The musician, born Rakim Hasheem Allen, was shot and killed in September 2022 in an alleged attempted robbery. Speaking to Rolling Stone‘s Nancy Dillon on Monday (Aug. 5) after court, an emotional Ms. Allen detailed how she only learned the proceedings had begun through social media.
“I wasn’t prepared for those pictures. It’s very devastating. I never wanted to see those pictures,” she shared with the outlet, as the sight of her son’s body caused her to tear up in court.
“I’m here to get justice. I want justice. This was my son, my child,” she continued, adding “I want the jury to know he has a family who loves him and wants to support him. I learned a lot today.”
The murder trial against Freddie Trone argues that he sent his 17-year-old son into a Los Angeles restaurant in 2022 to rob and kill the slain rapper. Trone pled not guilty to one count of murder, two counts of robbery, and a count of conspiracy to commit a felony. A co-defendant, Tremont Jones, is accused of tipping off Trone and his son to the musician’s location.
“I understand you’re trying to put together your story,” Trone told a prosecutor during the trial, per the Associated Press. “I never had nothing to do with it. I wasn’t there. I didn’t tell nobody to do nothing. I didn’t hand nobody no gun.”
His attorney, Winston McKesson, claims, “Had my defendant not lived in this area, had he not been African American, there’s no way they would’ve filed murder charges,” adding, “Had this crime been in Beverly Hills, he would’ve been charged as an accessory after the fact and that’s it.”
According to Rolling Stone, as of last month, the teenager suspected of pulling the trigger is not yet competent to stand trial. Commissioner Sharonda P. Bradford confirmed the accused murderer is receiving a range of services while in police custody.
“It’s unacceptable. My son was a beautiful person. He tried to take care of everyone. Our last conversation was a half-hour when he was on his way to California. He told me about all the good things he was doing. He was just trying to be better, a little more conscious,” detailed Ms. Allen to the outlet.
A follow-up hearing for the alleged shooter is set for later this month.
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