Drake and his attorneys try to quash an effort to subpoena him for a deposition in reference to the XXXTentacion homicide trial.
The deposition is being sought by Mauricio Padilla, a protection lawyer for one of many three suspects, Dedrick Williams. Prosecutors have by no means claimed that Drake (actual identify Aubrey Graham) was concerned in XXXTentacion’s demise, arguing as an alternative that XXX (actual identify Jahseh Onfroy) was killed in June 2018 throughout a theft outdoors a motorbike retailer that shortly escalated to violence. Padilla has inserted Graham, and his alleged feud with the rapper (actual identify Jahseh Onfroy), into his case as a potential various concept to the killing.
Padilla tried to subpoena Graham for a deposition on the finish of January, claiming that Graham was correctly served however didn’t present up for the deposition. Padilla then filed an “order to point out trigger,” which the choose granted, Feb. 9. The order states that as a result of Graham failed to look for the deposition on the finish of January, he “shall seem for a deposition” on Friday, Feb. 24. It continues: “If deponent Aubrey Drake Graham doesn’t seem to deposition he should seem earlier than this courtroom on Monday Feb. 27, 2023 at 10 a.m. EST at so [sic] the courtroom can decide why he shouldn’t be held in contempt.”
In new courtroom filings, obtained by Rolling Stone, Graham’s attorneys hit again at Padilla and the ruling. For starters, they claimed that the unique deposition subpoena was not correctly served, nor was it correctly accepted by Graham. The submitting additionally says the subpoena for deposition “locations an unreasonable and oppressive burden” on Graham, together with his attorneys pushing again towards Padilla’s claims about his alleged involvement.
“In a case corresponding to this, it’s each unreasonable and oppressive to subpoena an out of state social gathering who has not been talked about in any studies, any investigation, or referenced to have any involvement on this matter,” the submitting reads. “Based mostly on the proof up to now supplied on this case, there may be video which purports to point out the defendants allegedly as members within the homicide of the sufferer. No proof has been supplied to substantiate the assertion that [Graham] in any manner contributed to, had information of, or participated within the alleged incident and to mandate that he seem for deposition for one thing that he very clearly has no related information of is unreasonable.”
Padilla didn’t instantly return Rolling Stone‘s request for remark.
Together with making an attempt to get Graham to take part in a deposition, Padilla referenced the alleged feud between the 2 musicians in his opening arguments on Feb. 7. Particularly, he cited a social media put up from Onfroy in Feb. 2018 that learn, “If anybody tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi [Drake’s Instagram handle]. I’m snitching proper now.” Onfroy, nevertheless, deleted that put up — in addition to a couple of different incendiary posts — and wrote, “Please cease entertaining that bullshit on Twitter. My accounts had been beforehand hacked.”
Regardless of that ostensible retraction, which the protection lawyer didn’t seem to acknowledge in his opening assertion, Padilla puzzled aloud to the courtroom, “Do you suppose… any detective has ever requested Drake or anyone like that? No, they by no means did that.”
Padilla delved even deeper into the alleged beef and Graham’s alleged potential connection to Onfroy’s demise in a courtroom submitting submitted final December. In response to the doc, the feud started in 2017: First, a pal reportedly instructed Onfroy that Drake appreciated his music and was concerned with assembly and serving to him whereas he was in jail for allegedly abusing his pregnant girlfriend. Graham, nevertheless, by no means made contact, and Onfroy’s “emotions towards Drake started to shift in a destructive trend.”
Then Drake launched “KMT” in March 2017. Onfroy, who allegedly managed to listen to the music whereas nonetheless in custody, “immediately believed Drake stole his music,” in keeping with the submitting. “The cadence of the rap type and rhythm of the music is by all requirements extraordinarily related and have prompted many to consider that Graham did the truth is steal vital facets of the music from Onfroy.”
When Onfroy was launched from jail, he escalated the meat (although it at all times appeared slightly one-sided). His trolling makes an attempt included posts about Graham’s mom, a photograph of a Drake look-alike with semen on his face, and the “If anybody tries to kill me” tweet.
As for Onfroy’s ostensible retraction and hacking declare, the submitting alleges that hip-hop character DJ Akademiks (Livingston Allen) said that Onfrony “eliminated the put up and made a false declare that he had been hacked.” Livingston allegedly warned Onfroy that “though he didn’t consider that Graham was a violent individual, Onfroy could possibly be pushing him to retaliate.”
The submitting goes on to allege that Graham has shut ties to a number of folks with gang affiliations, together with Hassan Ali, who as soon as claimed on DJ Akademiks’ podcast that he was “Drake’s shooter.” Moreover, the submitting claims Graham, since Onfroy’s demise, has “constantly written lyrics… that the protection believes pertains to the decedent.” These even embrace a couple of traces on “BS,” off Her Loss, the place Drake says, “I by no means put no costs on the meat till we finish this shit/I pay half 1,000,000 for his soul, he my nemesis.”
Lastly, the submitting consists of quotes from a deposition given by Onfroy’s mom, Cleopatra Bernard, during which she recalled the considerations she had about her son’s feuds with Graham, in addition to Migos. Within the deposition, Bernard stated that she requested one among Onfroy’s family members to accompany him to the motorbike store the day he died “due to the continuing battle with Drake and Migos.”
This story was up to date 2/13/23 at 10:37 a.m. ET with particulars about Drake’s efforts to quash the subpoena for a deposition.