Things became heated at the trial of the men accused of murdering South Florida rapper XXXTentacion, with allegations of intimidation by one of the suspects against another.
Prosecutors said Trayvon Newsome yelled at fellow suspect Robert Allen Thursday as they were in the holding cells before court was in session.
A Broward Sheriff's deputy later reported the incident in court, saying it happened as he was escorting one of the men.
"What we can hear is Mr. Newsome yell out 'there he is, working with the police, the po-po,' also said 'you’re working with the white man now,'" Deputy David Alvarez testified.
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Prosecutors seized the opportunity to protect their witness.
"In the middle of the testimony of this witness who is a material witness, he’s being threatened by one of the co-defendants," Broward Assistant State Attorney Pascale Achille said. "I think it’s a clear attempt for him to try and change the witness' testimony to try and change the outcome of this case."
Newsome, Allen, and two other men, Michael Boatwright and Dedrick Williams, are all accused of participating in the June 18, 2018 killing of XXXTentacion.
Boatwright, Williams and Newsome are currently on trial and could all receive life sentences if convicted of first-degree murder. They are also charged with armed robbery. They have pleaded not guilty.
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Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year and took the stand Wednesday afternoon to testify against the other three suspects.
Allen was back on the stand Thursday, where defense attorneys questioned his credibility.
"You lied about your role, correct?" he was asked by attorney Joe Kimok. "You had sworn to tell the truth and then you lied to protect yourself, correct?"
Allen answered "yes" to both questions.
XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was shot and killed outside Riva Motorsports near Deerfield Beach in what authorities said was a robbery.
Video played in court Wednesday showed the 20-year-old rapper leaving the business in his BMW when an SUV pulled up and two armed men got out and approached the BMW with guns drawn.
After struggling for several moments with XXXTentacion, one of the suspects opens fire, killing the rapper in the car.
The suspects fled the scene with XXXTentacion's designer bag that was carrying $50,000 in cash.
