XXXTentacion’s Lawyer Says He Encouraged Beefing Up Security Before Artist’s Fatal Shooting
XXXTentacion was encouraged to obtain more security to accommodate his growing fame before his death on June 18, according to his criminal defense attorney.
XXXTentacion was encouraged to obtain more security to accommodate his growing fame before his death on June 18, according to his criminal defense attorney.
Attorney David Bogenschutz spoke with the Sun-Sentinel about the precautions he had previously advised the 20-year-old musician (born Jahseh Onfroy) to take. He said, “We talked about him needing security, that he was past the point of being a kid making melodies on a street corner.”
XXXTentacion had no regular security detail and Bogenschutz said he refused to carry a firearm or take other precautions.
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The day of his death, two gunmen approached XXXTentacion as he was driving away from RIVA Motorsports in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and fatally shot him. The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy the following day, but has withheld results during the open investigation.
“The only thing I know for a fact is that they were investigating it as a random robbery,” Bogenschutz said. “I think he went to the bank before it happened. I think the determination was that he wanted to buy a motorcycle, but [detectives] are not discounting any theory.”
According to the Broward County police, XXXTentacion’s Louis Vuitton bag with thousands of dollars inside was stolen during the robbery.
Bogenschutz sympathizes for his client, who was on a good path after being set free from house arrest several months ago. Travels to the recording studio and an upcoming European performance were permitted. “The incredibly sad thing about this is this kid had turned his life around since November,” he said. “It was amazing, the turnaround. He was on a real upward track.”
The renowned criminal defense lawyer took a personal liking to his client, who was so well-liked by fans that he recalled them once blocking the Miami-Dade courthouse lobby when Bogenschutz was going to one of X’s hearings. He told the Sun-Sentinel about X’s mentorship of teenagers who he would encourage to attend school despite not finishing his own high school education. He was also charitable: He gave Christmas gifts to kids in a Fort Lauderdale shelter and even planned an event before his untimely death.
“His legacy at age 20 is just that he was a kid doing what God gave him the gift to do and recognizing there was more to life than being inside a courtroom, and accomplishing it,” said Bogenschutz. “And that’s really the sad ending on this kid’s life, the loss of that potential and the loss of the ability to make people feel good about themselves.”