A Florida judge has reportedly ruled that Drake will not need to be involved in a deposition over XXXtentacion’s murder case, acknowledging his attorneys’ argument that he has no connection to it. According to Billboard, defense lawyers for one of the late Miami rapper’s alleged killers have been attempting to question Drake over his alleged beef with X, born Jahseh Onfroy, before his 2018 shooting death. Drake’s lawyers, however, argued that involving him into the case without sufficient evidence linking him to the crime is “unreasonable and oppressive.”

According to TMZ, Judge Michael Usan, in a ruling issued Tuesday (February 14), took sides with Drake’s lawyers, signing off on an order that voided a subpoena that would have required the rapper to sit for such a deposition. The prosecution in XXXtentacion’s murder case has never claimed that Drake was ever involved in the murder of the Miami native. Michael Boatwright, 27, Dedrick Devonshay Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, are three of the four alleged co-defendants facing charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. The fourth, Robert Allen, 26, already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in August 2022.

During opening statements last week, the defense told the jury that they would challenge Allen’s account, with one attorney saying Allen essentially lied in order to spare himself a life sentence. Allen told the jury that the four men agreed on June 17, 2018 to rent a vehicle in order to drive around and rob unsuspecting victims. "We had masks to rob people," he said, adding that they had guns in order to carry out their alleged crime spree. Additionally, Allen said the idea to rent the car came from Williams, who was the alleged getaway driver, and that they happened to run across the rapper by coincidence. The three co-defendants on trial could face life in prison if convicted. Authorities believe Boatwright was the assailant who allegedly fired the shots at XXXTentacion.