FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Testimony during Florida rapper YNW Melly’s trial for the murders of two of his fellow YNW Collective rappers continued on Wednesday for the third week.
Jamell “Melly” Demons is among the first defendants to face the possibility of the death penalty under the new state law that no longer requires unanimous agreement.
Demons stands accused of fatally shooting Christopher “Juvy” Thomas Jr., and Anthony “Sakchaser” Williams in the early morning of Oct. 26, 2018, in Broward County.
Demons was also accused of staging a cover-up with the help of Cortlen “Bortlen” Henry, who reported Thomas, 19, and Williams, 21, were the victims of a drive-by shooting.
A grand jury indicted Demons on Feb. 7, 2019, and he surrendered to Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies on Feb. 13, 2019, to face two counts of premeditated first-degree murder.
After spending over four years in Broward County jail, attorneys for the defense and the prosecution delivered their opening statements on June 12, in Fort Lauderdale.
Without a gun or DNA evidence, Assistant State Attorney Kristine Bradley has been relying on expert witnesses to present circumstantial evidence to the jury that includes an alleged association with a gang and cell phone data.
Attorneys David Howard, Stuart Adelstein, and Raven Liberty have been on the defense table with Demons, as Law & Crime cameras follow his every move.
After the pathologists who performed the autopsies testified on Tuesday, Bradley asked Sgt. Christopher Williams to testify about his analysis of the evidence.
Sgt. Williams, a shooting reconstruction expert, said his analysis showed there wasn’t a drive-by shooting and the shooter was inside the Jeep Compass.
“Thomas has an injury to his left cheek,” Sgt. Williams said. “The stippling is indicative of close-range fire.”
Howard attempted to discredit Sgt. Williams’s investigation by poking holes into the methodology and implying its sole purpose was to incriminate Demons.
Coverage of the trial