The defense lawyers for the three men accused of murdering XXXTentacion floated the possibility that superstar Drake might have actually been behind the 2018 slaying as the two rappers had a public feud.
Court documents showed that Drake — whose real name is Aubrey Graham — was ordered to appear virtually to answer questions in Broward County Court on Feb. 24. However, Judge Michael A. Usan approved a motion by Drake’s attorneys on Sunday to toss the order
Drake narrowly escaped the deposition order after Judge Michael A. Usan approved his motion to dismiss the sit-down interview.
Prosecutors said there is no evidence linking Drake to the killing. Drake’s lawyers argued that pulling him into the case without any evidence is “unreasonable and oppressive,” and the judge agreed
The legal team for the three defendants had argued that investigators did not probe XXXTentacion’s public feud with Drake in the aftermath of the 20-year-old’s untimely death.
“If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi,”The rapper, whose real name is JahsehOnfroy, once posted on social media, referring to Drake by his Instagram name.
He later deleted the post
Suspects Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome and Dedrick Williams are charged with killing XXXTentacion outside a Florida motorcycle store in what prosecutors alleged was a botched robbery that escalated to murder. Each suspect is facing a first-degree murder charge.
In the motion filed by Cohen, Drake’s attorney argued that the subpoena his client was served was “procedurally defective” after it was unclear how the deposition would be conducted.
The rapper was called into question after Padilla demanded that Drake be asked questions related to an alleged beef he had with the late rapper.
