Trayvon Newsome, one of the three men convicted in the high-profile murder case of rapper XXXTentacion, is seeking a new trial, claiming numerous errors were made during the original trial.
Newsome argues that the verdicts were not supported by the weight of the evidence and were contrary to the law. He also contends that the judge’s decisions to overrule defense objections and sustain state objections were both improper.
Moreover, Newsome asserts that the denial of defense motions during the trial and the granting of state motions were incorrect. He believes the refusal to grant defense motions for a mistrial was an error, and that the curative instructions provided by the court were insufficient to mitigate the impact of prejudicial and improper evidence presented to the jury.
Newsome’s defense also claims that the denial of the motion to separate defendants hindered his chances of receiving a fair trial, due to the strategies and presentations used by counsel for the other two co-defendants.
In the same trial, Dedrick Williams, another defendant, attempted to connect rapper Drake to XXXTentacion’s murder by citing lyrics from Drake’s songs “On BS” and “I’m Upset.”
Williams’ legal team suggested that a dispute between XXXTentacion and Drake started in 2017 after Drake released the song “KMT,” which XXXTentacion accused of copying his cadence.
Despite these efforts, the Florida jury found Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams, and Trayvon Newsome guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery after eight days of deliberations.
XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, was a 20-year-old rapper who was fatally shot outside a Florida motorcycle dealership in June 2018.
His murder sent shockwaves through the music industry and left fans mourning his untimely death.