Drake will be removed later this month in connection with the 2018 murder of rapper XXXTentacion.
XXXTentacion, real name Jahseh Onfroy, was shot dead on June 18, 2018 at the age of 20 after being mugged during an apparent robbery while leaving a motorsports store in Deerfield.
On the opening day of the trial, defense attorneys representing three men accused of murdering XXXTentacion suggested that Drake could be linked to the murder.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence linking Drake to the shooting, but TMZ reports that one of the defense attorneys got the judge to remove the superstar.
Although testimony was previously scheduled for January 27, Drake reportedly missed the date and is now scheduled to answer questions on Zoom on February 24.
Questions answered: Drake (left) will be removed later this month in connection with the 2018 murder of rapper XXXTentacion (right).
If he fails to appear, he must appear in court in person on February 27. If he fails to do so, he faces charges of contempt.
Michael Boatwright, 28, is accused of being the shooter while his friend Trayon Newsome, 24, is accused of being the other shooter. Dedrick Williams, 26, is accused of being the driver. All of them could face life sentences if convicted of first-degree murder.
A fourth man who prosecutors said was in the SUV, 26-year-old Robert Allen, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year and is scheduled to testify against his former friends at the trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The New York Post reports that the defendants’ defense team has argued investigators failed to investigate XXXTentacion’s feud with Drake, which boiled over when the Sad! Hitmaker wrote on social media in March 2018: “If anyone tried to kill me it was @champagnepapi. I’m just sniffing.”
He later recanted this statement, claiming that his account had been hacked.
Drake’s rep declined to comment when approached by .
Another rapper had also made threats against XXXTentacion.
Defense attorneys said the Broward Sheriff’s Office was under extreme political pressure to solve the case quickly since the rapper’s killing came just four months after the killing of 17 people at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Last picture: XXXTentacion, real name Jahseh Onfroy, was shot dead on June 18, 2018 at the age of 20 after being mugged during an apparent robbery while leaving a motorsports shop in Deerfield
“This has been a nightmare for Broward County and everyone involved,” said Mauricio Padilla, Williams’ attorney.
That’s why they wanted nothing to do with investigations into a celebrity, he said.
Prosecutors say there is no evidence linking Drake to the shooting and Williams is clearly visible in the store’s surveillance video, identifiable by his prominent facial tattoos. He was also identified by one of the employees. Padilla acknowledged Williams was present at the store but didn’t say how he would explain it.
Prosecutor Pascale Achille told jurors that Boatwright, Newsome, Williams and Allen went out that day to commit armed robbery. Allen and Williams went to the motorcycle shop to buy masks, she said.
There they found XXXTentacion, who, according to witness Leonard Kerr, had the $50,000 he’d just gotten from the bank hanging out of his pocket.
Michael Boatwright, 28, is accused of being the shooter – center pictured with his lawyers
The couple recognized him, and the group jumped at the opportunity and decided to rob him when he left, Achille said. Boatwright shot him several times “without provocation,” she said.
The defendants were linked to the shooting to varying degrees through surveillance video and cellphone locations, and all were implicated by Allen’s expected testimony, Achille said. Then there are the social media photos of some of the men showing the money posted that night, she said.
“They go on social media and brag about having this cash inflow,” Achille said. “They show it like it’s Christmas.”
Joseph Kimok, Boatwright’s attorney, also pointed the finger at a third man as a possible shooter – a friend of Williams’s was seen speaking at the motorcycle shop shortly before the shooting and who has the same build as his client.
He hinted that the friend might have gotten into the SUV Williams was driving out of sight of security cameras. He said the evidence would show Boatwright was sleeping in the house he shared with his grandmother at the time of the shooting.
“At no point (in the surveillance footage) will you see Mr. Boatwright because he wasn’t there,” Kimok said.
Alleged shooting accomplice Trayvon Newsome (left) and shooting suspect Michael Boatwright enter the courtroom to open statements at the XXXTentacion murder trial
Alleged shooting accomplice Dedrick Williams is shown at the defense table just prior to opening statements in the XXXTentacion murder trial
Yes, a cell phone linked to him was near the store – but that was a shared phone used by several men, he said. And yes, he “posed very stupidly with money” that night — but that money was Allen’s, not Boatwright’s, Kimok said.
Newsome’s attorney also denied that his client was present.
XXXTentacion was pronounced dead at a local hospital after suffering multiple gunshot wounds from the shooting.
After the fatal shooting, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office tweeted, “The adult male victim has been confirmed to be 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy aka rapper XXXTentacion.”
The Victim was a platinum-selling rising star whose songs explored themes of prejudice and depression. He also drew criticism for bad behavior and multiple arrests, including charges that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend.
The controversial rapper had been told he was going to be a father a few weeks before his death.
Leonard Kerr makes a gesture like he’s holding a gun while demonstrating how a man at gunpoint ordered him not to get out of the car he was in with up-and-coming rapper XXXTentacion
A friend of the rapper’s family also broke down Tuesday as he told jurors how he and the rapper were ambushed by armed robbers as they drove away from the motorcycle shop, how he fled in fear and then heard the gunshots that killed the rising star killed.
In Kerr’s testimony, he described how XXXTentacion’s BMW sports car was blocked by an SUV as Kerr and the rapper exited the Riva Motorsports parking lot near Fort Lauderdale.
Two men jumped out with guns, Kerr said. He said the larger man pointed his gun at him and told him not to get out of the car, underscoring his order with a curse word.
The other man tried to pull the rapper’s gold chain from his neck. Kerr said he could hear XXXTentacion asking, “What is this for?” At that point, Kerr said, he decided to flee and pushed the button that opened the passenger door.
“If I run, I can be shot, but I can live. When I sit down…” Kerr said, his voice trailing off until he paused to regain his composure.
Kerr said when he looked back, the larger man pointed his gun at XXXTentacion, and he said he heard at least two loud bangs. The men then got back into the SUV and sped off, taking with them the $50,000 the rapper had in his designer bag.