The defense team for one of the suspects who killed XXXtentacion has ordered Drake to appear in court following a failed appearance last month.
Defense lawyer Mauricio Padilla thinks that Drake is responsible for the shooting death of XXX due to a dispute with the late rapper, born Jahseh Onfroy, who was shot and killed in 2018.
According to Billboard, Padilla attempted to subpoena Drake last month, but the rapper failed to appear. He is now being ordered to appear via Zoom on Feb. 24. If he doesn’t show up, he may be held in contempt.
The defense team speculated Drake might have been involved in the murder of XXXtentacion, following unsubstantiated rumors that Drake stole the flow from XXXtentacion’s “Look at Me!” record on his “KMT” track.
Following the drama, XXXtentacion tagged Drake in an Instagram story that read, “If anyone tries to kill me, it’s @champagnepapi,” claiming that the account had been hacked. He was later killed in Deerfield Beach, Florida, four months later.
According to a December court filing, “Onfroy relentlessly taunted Graham on social media making statements about his mother and even posting a picture of a Drake look alike with semen on his face,” after the rapper didn’t help him during his time in jail in 2016-2017.
As the argument heated up, XXX was accused of involving DJ Akademiks by requesting that he repost the picture.
The filing adds that Drake is accused of being involved in gang-related activities while listing Somali Canadian rapper Hassan Ali as a potential associate. According to reports, Ali also admitted to Akademiks that he is Drake’s “Shooter.”
Padilla also listed Quavo, Offset, Takeoff, Tekashi 6ix9ine, and Joe Budden as potential witnesses in a December filing, but at a subsequent hearing, prosecutors called the move a stunt.
“It is apparent from the deliberate, late disclosure of the defendant’s witnesses and comments made between the parties that [the] defendant intended to ‘surprise’ the state and create a trial by ambush,” wrote prosecutor Pascale Achille.
Judge Michael Usan of the Broward Country Circuit issued a written request to Padilla to explain why the celebrities were significant to the case.
“They are high-profile people. And it’s not easy for me to subpoena,” Padilla answered. “I don’t have numbers, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be able to. Trying to subpoena Drake is not easy — you need a drone.”
