FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A judge who is presiding over the trial of Florida rapper YNW Melly announced on Tuesday morning that he was ruling against the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy disagreed with Jamell “Melly” Demons’s defense attorneys’ claim that the prosecution had “tainted” the jury.
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Also, the court also announced that witness testimony couldn’t proceed since a juror remained hospitalized after suffering dehydration.
Demons could face the death penalty if convicted of the murders of Christopher “Juvy” Thomas Jr., and Anthony “Sakchaser” Williams, two of his fellow YNW Collective rappers, on Oct. 26, 2018.
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Prosecutors accused Demons of shooting Thomas, 19, and Williams, 21, when he was 19 years old and they were all in a Jeep in Miramar after leaving a recording studio in Fort Lauderdale.
The defense’s motion on Thursday centered around the testimony of Felicia Holmes, a registered nurse whose daughter Mariah Hamilton, now 22, was in a relationship with Demons.
Defense Attorney David Howard said there had been a “prejudicial fiasco” in court, and he accused Assistant State Attorney Kristine Bradley of calling Holmes to read out-of-court statements despite a court’s ruling against it.
“This jury sat there and watched this fiasco unfold with at least 10, maybe 15 sidebars, after every two questions,” Howard said adding that the “highly prejudicial” testimony had “tainted” the jury.
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Demons grew up in Indian River County’s Gifford community and had an arrest record there and in Lee County. His experiences as a juvenile defendant and convict there fueled his lyrics.
The defendants and the victims are seen in music videos published on YouTube with other teenage boys who appeared to be playing with guns, cash, alcohol, and marijuana.
Demons became known as YNW Melly when he released his breakout song “Murder on My Mind” on SoundCloud and on YouTube in 2017. His golden single while signed with 300 Entertainment made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, and he partnered with Kanye West for “Mixed Personalities.”
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YNW Melly released “Melly vs. Melvin,” his debut album, in 2019, and “Just a Matter of Slime” — which features Lil Uzi Vert, Kodak Black, and Lil Baby — in 2021.
Demons surrendered to face two counts of premeditated murder on Feb. 13, 2019, and a judge denied him bond. About four years later, Demons maintains his friends were the victims of a drive-by shooting.