A suspect in the killing of rapper XXXTentacion has been taken into custody by US marshals, according to a spokesman for the agency’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Robert Allen, 22, was located Wednesday in Eastman, Georgia, hundreds of miles from Broward County, Florida, where he lives and where the 20-year-old rapper was shot and killed last month.
Allen, who was indicted on murder charges last week, was booked into the Dodge County Jail, according to the local sheriff’s office. He is awaiting extradition to Broward County.
His arrest comes more than a month after the rapper, whose given name was Jahseh Onfroy, was gunned down in an apparent robbery as he left a motorsports store in Deerfield Beach, Florida.
US marshals began staking out the Eastman home of one of Allen’s relatives Monday, said Stewart Cottingham, supervisory inspector for the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force of the US Marshals Service.
After conducting hours of surveillance, authorities believed Allen arrived at the home either late Tuesday or early Wednesday, Cottingham said
Marshals went to the door, and a relative confirmed that Allen was inside, he said. He was taken into custody without incident, Cottingham said.
CNN was unable to determine if Allen was represented by an attorney.
XXXTentacion skyrocketed to fame after his song “Look at Me” went viral in 2016. He was featured in XXL magazine’s 2017 freshman class alongside other up-and-coming artists, and his album “?” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts when it was released in March.
His death prompted an outpouring of grief on social media by other prominent rappers such as Big Sean and Kanye West.
4 suspects indicted
Police arrested Dedrick Devonshay Williams two days after the June 18 slaying. Another suspect, Michael Boatwright, was arrested earlier this month on unrelated drug charges before later being served with an arrest warrant for first-degree murder.
Last week, a Broward County grand jury indicted Williams, Boatwright and Allen on charges of first-degree murder with a firearm and armed robbery with a firearm, according to the sheriff’s office.
A fourth person, Trayvon Newsome, 20, was also indicted but remains at large.
Boatwright and Newsome were the two armed suspects who confronted the rapper when he was shot and killed, the sheriff’s office said.
Boatwright discharged the weapon, killing Onfroy, according to the indictment.
According to an affidavit for Boatwright’s arrest warrant, XXXTentacion was robbed of $50,000 that he’d tucked into a small Louis Vuitton bag in his BMW when he was shot and killed. He had just withdrawn the money — all $100 bills in bank wrappers — before going to the motorsports store.
While he was inside, an SUV pulled up, according to the affidavit. Two men got out and passed Onfroy and his friend shopping in the store, the affidavit said. One of the men — whom authorities later identified as Williams — brought a black mask. The two men left and got in their vehicle.
The SUV parked at a nearby residence for several minutes before cutting off Onfroy’s BMW as he left the store, the affidavit said. The rapper was shot after a brief struggle.
Allen, who was seen entering the store with Williams, was initially identified as a person of interest in the case. He’s also the subject of a felony warrant charging him with flakka possession, carrying a concealed firearm and a probation violation, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
