The Ankle Monitor: Xxxtentacion's Troubled History

XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter who gained a cult following with his depression- and alienation-themed music. He was no stranger to legal trouble, having been arrested multiple times on charges including robbery, assault, witness tampering, and domestic abuse. In December 2017, he was released from jail and placed under house arrest while awaiting trial for domestic abuse charges. It was during this time that he was made to wear an ankle monitor.

XXXTentacion was on house arrest for a 2016 domestic violence case

XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was on house arrest in December 2017 for a 2016 domestic violence case. He was initially incarcerated after being charged with 15 counts of witness tampering and witness harassment. Onfroy was accused of beating his then-pregnant ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, and threatening to kill her. Ayala set up a GoFundMe page to cover her medical bills from the alleged assault.

Onfroy was released with an ankle monitor, allowing him to fulfil contractual obligations and record music. However, he was still required to submit to monthly drug tests and report his whereabouts when travelling.

Onfroy was eventually released from house arrest in March 2018, allowing him to tour in support of his album, ?.

He was accused of beating his then-pregnant ex-girlfriend

XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was a controversial figure in the hip-hop industry due to his legal issues and alleged violence. In 2016, he was charged with aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and witness tampering. He was accused of beating his then-pregnant ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who had been living with him and his roommates since 2016.

Ayala's statement accused Onfroy of beating her at times, choking her, breaking clothes hangers on her legs, and threatening to cut out her tongue or chop off her hair. She also stated that he held her head underwater in their bathroom while promising to drown her. Ayala claimed that Onfroy would often guilt her with near-attempts at suicide and that he used to fill a bathtub with water and dangle a microwave over it, threatening to let go.

Onfroy was arrested in October 2016 and initially detained in Broward Regional Detention Center in Fort Lauderdale. He was released on house arrest in September 2017, but was jailed again in December 2017 after seven new charges were added, including witness tampering and witness harassment. He was released on house arrest again in March 2018 to support his recently released album, ?. Onfroy was awaiting trial for the domestic-abuse charges at the time of his murder in June 2018.

He was also charged with witness tampering and witness harassment

XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was a controversial American rapper and singer-songwriter. Onfroy was involved in a variety of legal issues throughout his life, including domestic violence, aggravated battery, and false imprisonment.

In December 2017, Onfroy was charged with eight new felony counts of witness tampering and witness harassment, adding to the seven counts of witness tampering and witness harassment handed down earlier that month. These charges were in addition to the charges he was already facing, including aggravated battery against a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and false imprisonment.

The witness tampering and witness harassment charges against Onfroy stemmed from allegations that he coerced his ex-girlfriend, the woman accusing him of domestic violence, into signing a document to drop the charges against him. Prosecutors claimed that Onfroy made several recorded phone calls from jail that provided evidence for the witness tampering and witness harassment charges. As a result of these charges, Onfroy was held without bail or phone privileges and faced the possibility of decades in prison if convicted.

Onfroy's trial was delayed several times, and he was eventually released from house arrest in March 2018. However, he was killed in June 2018, before his trial could take place.

He was allowed to leave house arrest to tour and promote his album '?'

XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was allowed to leave house arrest to tour and promote his album, '?'. Onfroy had been placed under house arrest in December 2017 while awaiting trial for a 2016 domestic violence case. He was accused of beating his then-pregnant ex-girlfriend and intimidating her after she refused to testify against him.

On March 21, 2018, a judge granted Onfroy's request to be released from house arrest so that he could tour and promote his album, '?'. Onfroy's legal team argued that he needed the income from touring to "stay afloat", as his earnings from record sales were insufficient. Although he was allowed to leave house arrest, Onfroy was required to submit to monthly drug tests and report on his whereabouts when travelling.

Onfroy's album, '?', debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, giving SoundCloud rap its first number-one album. On June 18, 2018, Onfroy was shot and killed during a robbery outside an upscale seller of motorcycles and boats in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

XXXTentacion was murdered in 2018

On June 18, 2018, XXXTentacion was shot and killed at the age of 20. The American rapper, whose real name was Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was murdered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, outside RIVA Motorsports, an upscale seller of motorcycles and watercraft.

Onfroy was in his car when he was approached by 22-year-old Michael Boatwright and his accomplices Trayvon Newsome, Dedrick Williams, and Robert Allen. The perpetrators were wearing masks and were armed with firearms. They blocked Onfroy's car from exiting the parking lot in a premeditated attack. A brief struggle ensued, and Onfroy was shot multiple times. The attackers then fled the scene in an SUV, stealing Onfroy's Louis Vuitton bag, which contained $50,000 in cash.

Onfroy was taken to the nearby Broward Health North hospital in Deerfield Beach, where he was pronounced dead. The Broward County Sheriff's Office offered a $3,000 bounty for any information leading to the arrest of the suspects. Onfroy's death sparked widespread reactions, including vigils and memorials from fans and local residents.

The four suspects were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. During the trial, which began in February 2023, Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and testified against the other three defendants in exchange for a reduced sentence. Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams were found guilty of first-degree murder and were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Allen received a reduced sentence of seven years in prison and 20 years of probation.

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