New details have emerged about the murder of rapper PnB Rock, who was gunned down two years ago at a restaurant in South Los Angeles.
The television show True Crime News posted a segment to YouTube on Tuesday Nov. 12, that included never-before-seen surveillance footage from the Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles where the rapper was killed.
The footage showed PnB Rock and his fiancée Stephanie Sibounheuang walking into the restaurant for lunch on Sept. 12, 2022.
Once they were inside, a neighborhood hustler named Tremont Jones fist-bumped the rapper to apparently get a closer at the estimated $500,000 in jewelry he was wearing.
Related: Man Who Sent Son to Rob and Kill Rapper PnB Rock Sentenced to Decades in Prison
True Crime News interviewed Deputy District Attorney Timothy Richardson, who said Jones was hoping to score a big payday, and put a plan in motion to rob PnB Rock after spotting his jewelry.
“Tremont Jones, the gentleman who was sitting right inside the door that fist-bumped PnB Rock knew who he was,” Richardson said.
The prosecutor added that Jones would sit inside the restaurant all day long.
“Tremont Jones loiters at the Roscoe’s. That’s just his hangout spot,” Richardson said.
After PnB Rock and Sibounheuang were escorted to their table, Jones walked outside the restaurant. The deputy D.A. said Jones then alerted an accomplice and told him to come to Roscoe’s. That accomplice, later identified as Freddie Trone, was recorded arriving at the restaurant and talking to Jones.
Trone left, but returned a short time later with his 17-year-old son, who is accused of killing PnB Rock.
At 1:16 p.m., the teenage gunman entered the location. Words were exchanged and he shot the rapper three times. PnB Rock, born Rakim Allen, was 30 years old when he died.
The security guard in the restaurant ran outside to escape the gunman at 1:17 p.m., leaving patrons to fend for themselves.
Five minutes later, LAPD officers arrived at the location, and began performing CPR on PnB Rock.
Sibounheuang was taken to a police station for questioning.
The detectives questioning Sibounheuang informed her that PnB Rock had died, the interrogation video obtained by True Crime News showed.
Immediately after the shooting, Sibounheuang received widespread criticism on social media for posting a picture of her meal on Instagram and geo-tagging the Roscoe’s location. Many people blamed her for revealing PnB Rock’s whereabouts with the post.
But Richardson told True Crime News the post had nothing to do with the shooting.
“In that photograph was only the food,” the prosecutor said. “There wasn’t an arm, or jewelry, or any type of items. Nothing valuable on the post.”
Richardson noted that the shooting occurred minutes after Sibounheuang posted the picture. While the surveillance video proved Tremont Jones put a plan in motion to rob PnB Rock as soon as the rapper walked into the restaurant wearing multiple items of expensive jewelry.
“He had two watches, several chains, rings on this fingers, and these were not just costume jewelry. These are chains that do get attention,” Richardson said. “I said quite frankly, [there were] a half million dollars worth of reasons to come and take advantage of this young man.”
The surveillance footage showed the restaurant was nearly empty. Yet it took about 40 minutes for employees to bring the couple their food, raising questions as to whether some of the employees may have been involved in the plot to rob PnB Rock and stall until the gunman had time to arrive.
Right after the shooting, surveillance cameras outside Freddie Trone’s apartment showed him and his teenage son returning home. The son had changed clothes, and tossed a bag of items into a dumpster. Another camera recorded Trone setting the getaway car on fire.
Trone fled to Las Vegas. Two weeks later, he was taken into custody. LAPD detectives traveled to Nevada and extradited him back to California.
At trial, Trone took the stand and claimed he wasn’t at the restaurant when the shooting happened, as previously reported.
“I never had nothing to do with it,” Trone testified. “I wasn’t there. I didn’t tell nobody to do nothing. I didn’t hand nobody no gun.”
Trone was convicted of murder, second-degree robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. In September 2024, a Los Angeles judge sentenced him to 31 years in state prison, the D.A.’s office said in a press release.
Co-defendant Tremont Jones was sentenced to 12 years in prison following his conviction on two counts of second-degree robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Trone’s wife, Shauntel Trone, pleaded no contest to accessory after the fact. Meanwhile Trone’s girlfriend, who drove him to Vegas, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.
The teenage gunman was deemed incompetent to stand trial because of mental health issues. He is currently being held at a juvenile detention center.
Watch the True Crime News segment below:
