ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 18: Drake attends a concert after party at Onyx Nightclub on October 18, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
A Florida judge has granted Drake’s motion to avoid a deposition in the murder trial of XXXTentacion, meaning he will not be cross-examined by a defense attorney about the late rapper’s death, according to TMZ Hip Hop.
The rapper will no longer be ordered to appear in court on February 27, 2023.
Defense attorney Mauricio Padilla, who represents one of the suspects, Dedrick Williams, had previously argued Drake needed to be present for questioning due to an old rivalry between the two rappers.
Neither a representative for Drake nor the defense attorney who attempted to depose him returned a request for comment as of Wednesday, the outlet reports.
Drake’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, had told the court that Drizzy has no relevant information to add to the case. Judge Usan ultimately agreed by granting their motion to avoid depositon.
While Drake seems to be in the clear now, Padilla could potentially convince the judge and find another reason for him to be deposed by way of a new subpoena.
However, with the trial already underway, it appears unlikely that Champagne Papi won’t be involved in any further court proceedings regarding the case.
On Monday, The Shade Room reported that Drake and his attorney had filed the motion, which was granted just days later on Wednesday (Feb. 15.)
Defense attorney Mauricio Padilla – who represents one of three defendants charged with killing XXX – had initially managed to successfully convince the judge to call Drake as a witness in the case.
The murder trial for the accused killers Dedrick Williams, Michael Boatwright, Robert Allen, Trayvon Newsome began last week.
Padilla, who represents Dedrick Williams, had sent Drake a Zoom link for the deposition without having it sealed, meaning Drake’s security could be compromised due to his status as an international star, the outlet reports.
A few days later, the court documents claim Padilla filed a notice with the court, but failed to include details on how the Zoom interview with Drake would be conducted, causing Drake’s legal team to determine the subpoena to be procedurally defective.
Drake’s motion had also stated his name never appeared in any of the investigative files, meaning there was nothing to indicate he has any relevant information regarding XXX’s murder.
He went on to say that forcing him to sit for a deposition is simply an attempt to “add more layers of celebrity and notoriety to a tragic and unfortunate event,” according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
The two artists had been feuding at the time of latter’s death, spurring speculation that Drake hired them to kill his rap rival.
And casting more suspicion is a the fact that XXX, real name Jahseh Onfroy, stated on social media in Feb. 2018 that if he ever ended up dead, Drake would be the reason behind it.
Onfroy was killed just months after that post in June 2018.
“If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi [Drake’s Instagram handle]. I’m snitching right now.” Onfroy posted before deleting it, along with a few other incendiary posts.
However, he later retracted that bold statement and claimed his accounts were “hacked.”
