FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A motions hearing was held Tuesday in Broward County for rapper YNW Melly, who is accused of killing two of his childhood friends in 2018.
On Tuesday, a lot of the discussion centered around the fact that the former lead prosecutor is no longer allowed to be on the case and three new ones are now taking over.
Melly, who was wearing a red jail jumpsuit, sat listening on as attorneys for the state and his defense team went back and forth about when the retrial should begin.
The defense argued that it should be starting soon and following rules about allowing for a speedy trial, while the state asked the judge to give them time to allow the new prosecutors to get familiar with the case they are now in charge of trying.
“This is an accusation that could carry the death sentence of the defendant, who hasn’t been proven guilty because they haven’t met their burden and we don’t think he’s guilty,” defense attorney Jamie Benjamin said.
“We just got this case 48 hours ago and we know nothing (about it),” Assistant State Attorney Alix Buckelew said. “And we will still be at a disadvantage -- because Miss Bradley had this case for five years, we will still be at a disadvantage.”
Jury selection will begin Wednesday morning after his initial trial ended with a hung jury in July after they couldn’t come to a unanimous verdict.
Their plan is to bring in 150 potential jurors Wednesday and Thursday to begin the process, starting with asking about hardships and continuing with voir dire at another time.
That schedule is still being worked out, but we are officially moving closer to the beginning of this retrial.
Melly faces a possible death sentence if convicted of first-degree murder in the 2018 slayings of two childhood friends, Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams. Their stage names all include “YNW” because they belonged to the same hip-hop collective. It stands for “Young New Wave” or another phrase that includes a racial slur.
Prosecutors say Melly, after a late-night recording session, shot Thomas and Williams inside an SUV and he and Cortlen “YNW Bortlen” Henry then tried to make it look like a drive-by shooting. The 24-year-old rapper remains jailed without bond.