Drake is seemingly done with any affiliation to XXXTentacion‘s murder trial after a ton of back and forth in recent weeks.
As of the newest court update on Friday (February 24), Judge Michael A. Usan has once again ruled that Drake does not have to sit for a deposition regarding X’s murder. Suspect Dedrick Williams’ lawyer Mauricio Padilla had presented Drake as a possible alternative theory to the murder, citing their beef before the Florida rapper’s death.
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In new video from the court room, Judge Usan found Padilla’s arguments to be unconvincing.
“What does that have to do with someone who you have no evidence of being involved other than hearsay and innuendo?” Usan asked Padilla as he tried to state his case. “You are now trying to just drag somebody in who’s a celebrity who does not want to be associated with this. And the harm to that individual is not inconsequential.”
He continued: “At best, that would be adding an unindicted co-conspirator, if you will. But that’s not a defense to the individuals that are here.”
NEW: Judge in #XXXTentacion trial rules in favor of @Drake and he will not have to sit for a deposition.
Judge: " …no evidence of (Drake) being involved other than hearsay and innuendo. You are now trying to just drag somebody in who's a celebrity…" pic.twitter.com/7pwXHaHcdN
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 24, 2023
Earlier this month on February 14, Judge Usan signed off on Drake’s motion to avoid the deposition following the court’s previous order for him to sit down and answer questions.
Drake’s attorney Bradford Cohen argued that the court had no relevant information to bring his client in, which the judge ultimately agreed with.
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Padilla tried to subpoena Drake for a deposition before the trial commenced, claiming that the Toronto native was properly served but failed to show up for the deposition. Because of this, Padilla then petitioned the court for an “order to show cause,” which the judge then granted on February 9. The order requested Drake’s presence for a deposition on February 24.
Days later, Drizzy’s lawyer filed a motion to dismiss it, writing that he believes defense attorneys are only trying to “add more layers of celebrity and notoriety” to the case.
The same day Judge Usan signed off on the motion, the defense claimed in a new filing that they did attempt to serve Drizzy a subpoena at his California residence but they were immediately “greeted by armed guards who refused to accept service.”
The process server reportedly left the subpoena on Drake’s doorstep, and the armed guards responded by “literally” kicking the motion down his long driveway while saying “nobody is being served here.”
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“Apparently Drake’s staff believes that physically kicking the subpoena is a legally sound way of refusing service,” the filing reads.
While on the stand that same week, one of XXXTENTACION’s accused killers, Robert Allen, denied that Drake was involved in the murder and said he never spoke to or attempted to contact the OVO hitmaker.
Allen agreed to testify against his three co-defendants after pleading guilty to lesser charges in 2022. If convicted, the other three suspects — Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome — could face life in prison.
