Rapper Drake is trying to get out of testifying in the XXXTENTACION murder trial by filing a motion. Through his lawyer Bradford Cohen, the 36-year-old filed a motion and requested that the judge dismiss the subpoena mandating him to appear for a private deposition in late February.
TMZ reported that defence attorney Mauricio Padilla presented arguments that ultimately swayed the judge to call on Drake as a witness in the case.
According to TMZ, Padilla, who represents Dedrick Williams (one of the three defendants charged with killing XXXTENTACION), sent Drake an unencrypted ZOOM link for the deposition, which would have jeopardised Drake’s security given that he is a prominent artiste across the globe.
Padilla issued a notice to the court some days later but omitted to include information about the specifics of the Drake ZOOM interview. Drake asserts that, as a result, the subpoena had procedural errors.
Drake argues in the motion—on which the judge has not yet made a decision—that his name was not mentioned in the investigative files and that nothing in those files suggested he might have had important information about the case.
Taking a deposition, according to Drake, was unreasonable and an attempt to “add more layers of celebrity and notoriety to a tragic and unfortunate event.”
