POUGHKEEPSIE – Raheim Drayton, a/k/a rap artist Tito Montana, is on trial again, after a jury refused to convict him of following a trial in Dutchess County Court in late October.
The 46-year-old Drayton, represented by defense attorney Joseph Gulino, was found , by a jury in Dutchess County Court in October. The same jurors were deadlocked on the felony charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance – more than eight ounces, resulting in a hung jury.
Throughout the first trial, Drayton maintained his innocence. The defendant, a Poughkeepsie native who now resides in Georgia, was accused by the State Police of having more than 1.5 kilos of cocaine during a traffic stop in 2024 in East Fishkill. Drayton was pulled over by state troopers who were believed to be responding to a tip about a BMW SUV with Georgia plates involved in trafficking cocaine.
Drayton, through social media and his attorney, implied in the first trial, that the state police planted the evidence in his car. Drayton has also published video footage showing gaps in the police bodycam footage, proof, he says, that substantiates his defense.
The jurors in the first trial were split evenly in deciding if Drayton was innocent or guilty, and the defense was miffed at Dutchess County DA Anthony Parisi’s decision to re-try Drayton.
Jury selection for the new trial concluded on Wednesday, and opening arguments began after lunch. Senior Assistant DA Griffon Kenyon told jurors that Drayton was caught with more than a kilogram of cocaine with a street value of approximately $100,000. Defense Attorney Gulino wants jurors to question the evidence that the drugs that tested positive for cocaine by the state police laboratory may not be the same substance seized during the Drayton traffic stop. “Don’t put on the blinders that the DA’s Office wants you to wear,” Gulino said, adding, “Hold them (prosecution) to the burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The trial is scheduled to resume on Thursday.
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