YNW Melly Charged With Witness Tampering
Right now, YNW Melly is about to face his second trial for double murder. The 24-year-old Florida rapper, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of killing two of his childhood friends, Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams, in 2018. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Melly, who pleaded not guilty. Earlier this year, a hung jury forced a judge to declare a mistrial. Now, Melly is being charged with witness tampering, in addition to the two charges of first-degree murder.
As the Associated Press reports, prosecutors claim that YNW Melly used prison contacts to ensure that a key witness would not testify in his trial. Melly is allegedly a member of the Bloods gang, and prosecutors say that Melly used passed letter and phone calls from fellow inmates to prevent the witness from testifying against him. Earlier this week, TMZ reported that Miami Dade Police also arrested Cortlen Malik Henry, better known as YNW Bortlen, for felony witness tampering. Bortlen is accused of being the driver in Melly’s murder case, and he’s also facing double murder charges.
YNW Melly’s lawyers claim that the witness tampering charges “are clearly retaliation” after they accused Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor and his associates of conspiring to hide evidence. According to Melly’s lawyers, a police colleague has accused Mark Moretti, the lead detective in the murder case, of asking a deputy to lie. Moretti refutes the claim, and a recent internal affairs investigation cleared him. Melly’s lawyers claim that prosecutors should’ve told them about the accusations against Moretti because it could’ve hurt his credibility.
YNW Melly’s retrial is set to begin next week.