For second time, lawyers fight defense efforts to get Drake to testify in XXXTentacion trial

Three days from a potential deposition, internationally acclaimed rapper Drake is again caught in legal limbo.

On Monday, Drake’s lawyer Brad Cohen argued that the effort to get the rapper to sit through a deposition in the trial of three men accused of robbing and murdering XXXTentacion, a South Florida rapper who was an emerging star until his death in 2018, should be thrown out as Drake hasn’t been properly served a subpoena.

But defense lawyers trying to serve the superstar say he used armed guards to block a subpoena to testify, according to a motion filed Friday in Broward court.

READ MORE: Drake’s armed guards block subpoena to testify in XXXTentacion trial, lawyers say

Broward Judge Michael Usan vacated an order last week that aimed to compel Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, to give a virtual deposition. The judge had threatened the rapper with a contempt charge if he didn’t show up for a deposition after missing one scheduled for Jan. 27.

READ MORE: Weeks into XXXTentacion murder trial, judge rules that Drake won’t have to testify

However, defense lawyer Mauricio Padilla — who is representing Dedrick Williams, one of three facing robbery and murder charges — still retained the power to subpoena Drake after Usan’s order. On Friday, Padilla issued a motion to the court to have it again require that Drake give a deposition on Feb. 24 or be held in contempt after attempts of serving the rapper and his legal team proved fruitless.

In his Monday motion, Cohen criticized Padilla’s focus on the rapper, saying that the only “logical motive” for filing a second time to get Drake to testify out of court is to “inject celebrity spectacle into an otherwise routine trial and generate headlines in the news.”

He also asked the court to sanction Padilla for his “bad faith conduct” — and have him pay Drake’s attorney fees.

Padilla has been pushing to get Drake on the stand for weeks, pointing to a feud between the two rappers.

The social media beef between Drake and XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, had the internet buzzing with unsubstantiated conspiracy theories linking Drake to the South Florida rapper’s killing.

A month before his death, XXXTentacion referenced Drake in an ominous Instagram post: “if anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi.” The rapper later claimed his account was hacked.

As it stands, no evidence has connected Drake to the murder other than him being added to the witness list in December, as first reported by the Miami Herald.

Judge Usan will likely hear the motion on Wednesday.

Grethel Aguila

Miami Herald

Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.