STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Do You Agree With XXXTentacion's Murder Suspect's Choice For Pleading Not Guilty?

The 22-year-old's lawyer reportedly released a statement on the plea.

Official legal proceedings in the murder case of slain Miami rapper XXXTentacion are officially underway, and police have captured one suspect while reportedly pursuing two others.

The detained person of interest charged with X’s first-degree murder, Dedrick D. Williams, is entering a not guilty plea, however, and his lawyer is already beefing up an explanation in defense of the 22-year-old suspect.

According to defense attorney Mauricio Padilla, Williams plans to maintain his innocence, which is especially important for him amid social media’s speculation-driven culture, Hot New Hip Hop reports.

“It's difficult when you're dealing with media cases because as you know they take a life of their own nowadays with social media,” he reportedly said. “But we're really focused on trying this case in a court of law and not in the court of public opinion.”

Williams was arrested for the first-degree murder of the millennial hip-hop star last week as his mugshot rushed the internet. ABC 10 reports that detective John Curcio believes Williams bought a red mask, one of the key identifiers of the murder suspect(s) in the case, and donned a pair of orange sandals on the day of X’s murder. The site adds that he believes the 22-year-old parked an SUV in front of X’s BMW, where he was fatally shot in the driver’s seat, to prevent him from driving away.

Currently, police have expanded their search for two other suspects to the U.S. Marshals in efforts to track them down after Williams’ arrest.

What do you say, X fans: Is social media a viable tool for legal cases in 2018, or should the court of law do away with internet influence for such high-profile cases?

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.