Drake has received a court order in the XXXTENTACION murder trial, forcing the OVO artist to either sit for a deposition or appear in court.
Rolling Stone obtained the order on Thursday (February 9), which comes from the defense attorney for one of the three suspects on trial, Dedrick Williams. Mauricio Padilla has presented Drake as a possible alternative theory to X’s murder, citing their beef before the Florida rapper’s death.
Padilla tried to subpoena Drake for a deposition last month 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 has now granted.
The order requests Drake’s presence for a deposition on February 24.
“If deponent Aubrey Drake Graham does not appear to deposition he must appear before this court on Monday Feb. 27, 2023 at 10 a.m. EST at so the court can determine why he should not be held in contempt,” it reads.
No evidence in the case has ever been presented linking Drake to the crime, but that hasn’t stopped Padilla from not only listing him but a number of other high-profile Hip Hop figures as potential witnesses including Quavo, Joe Budden and 6ix9ine.
XXXTENTACION and Drake’s beef dates back to 2017, when the former put Drizzy on blast, accusing him of biting his “Look At Me!” flow on the More Life standout “KMT.”
“If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi. I’m snitching right now,” X wrote in an Instagram post at the time, before later claiming his account was hacked.
Padilla referenced the feud and its related Instagram post during his opening arguments on Tuesday (February 7). He did not reference the retraction, however.
“Do you think… any detective has ever asked Drake or anybody like that? No, they never did that,” Padilla said.
In addition to Williams, codefendants Michael Boatwright and Trayvon Newsome are standing trial. If convicted, the three suspects could face life in prison. Authorities believe Boatwright was the assailant who ultimately fired the fatal shots at XXXTENTACION.
The three suspects, along with another man named Robert Allen, were arrested soon after and hit with first-degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm charges. Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in August 2022 and has testified against his accomplices in hopes of a lighter sentence.
“As he’s grabbing the bag shots are fired,” Allen told the courtroom on day three of the trial. When asked to clarify who fired the shots, Allen responded: “Michael Boatwright.” When asked to confirm who Boatwright allegedly shot, Allen responded: “Triple X.”
Allen also broke down how the $50,000 that X was robbed of was allegedly dispersed among the four co-defendants. After saying he only received $5,000 while Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome each got $15,000, Allen was asked why.
“I wasn’t participating in the robbery,” Allen responded. “[Williams] actually said I wasn’t going to get any money at all.”
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