The three suspects accused of XXXTENTACION’s 2018 murder were reportedly found guilty on Monday (Mach 20). According to Rolling Stone, Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome and Dedrick Williams were slapped with the verdict after seven days of jury deliberation. All three men are now facing life in prison.
The trial, which began in February, picked up traction after Williams’ attorney, Mauricio Padilla, attempted to drag Drake into it. He claimed the two rappers had been beefing shortly before X was killed. Padilla cited an old tweet from X in his opening arguments that read, “If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi. I’m snitching right now.” X later claimed he was hacked.
Padilla’s motion to depose Drake was ultimately shot down by the judge, but Drake’s legal team had to step in. One of his attorneys, Bradford Cohen, countered there was a “lack of foundation.” Cohen explained Padilla sent Drake a Zoom link for the deposition without sealing it. Days later, Padilla filed a notice with the court but failed to include details on how the Zoom interview would be conducted. Cohen therefore claimed the subpoena was “procedurally defective.”
Whatever the case, it didn’t work. Williams and his co-defendants will now await their sentencing hearings.
XXXTENTACION was shot and killed outside of RIVA Motorsports in Deerfield Beach, Florida on June 18, 2018. A fourth suspect, Robert Allen, identified Boatwright as the shooter and Williams as the mastermind. X was just 20 years old at the time of his death.