XXXTentacion Murder Suspect Waives Right to Speedy Trial
The murder case for slain South Florida rapper XXXTentacion trudges on. In the latest development in the case, one of the four men accused of robbing and killing the beloved MC has waived his right to a speedy trial.
Suspects Robert Allen and Michael Boatwright appeared in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla. courtroom on Friday (Oct. 19). During the court appearance, Allen and his legal team decided to waive his speedy trial protection, reports Local News 10. According to the 6th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, citizens accused of crimes have the right to a speedy trial. The definition of "speedy" is determined by the severity of the crime and decided upon by individual states. Most people choose to not drag the process on, but in some cases defendants find it to their advantage to play the long game while their legal team takes time to mount a defense that can poke holes in the prosecution's case.
Allen, Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome have been charged with first-degree murder in XXX's June 18 death, the result of a robbery turned homicide outside of Riva Motorsports in Deerfield Beach, Fla. Allen was named as a person of interest by police a week after the killing. It was later revealed he had a felony warrant out for his arrest. He was apprehended in Eastman, Ga. on July 25 with the help of a Marshals Fugitive Task Force and extradited to Broward County, Fla. to face charges. He was later denied bail.
Both Williams and Newsome have been arrested and pleaded not guilty. Boatwright has been required to undergo an evaluation to see if he is mentally fit to stand trial. On Friday, his lawyers argued that the results of the testing have not been decided yet.
See Behind-the-Scenes Photos of XXXTentacion at the 2017 XXL Freshman Shoot