Motions to begin in rapper YNW Melly's witness tampering case
Rapper YNW Melly’s tampering with a witness trial is set to begin Jan. 21.
The South Florida native is accused of pressuring a witness not to testify in his 2023 double murder trial, which ended in a mistrial.
The defense has a slew of motions before the court. One asks to inspect and take photos of his cell at the Broward County jail, which is set up so that Melly doesn’t have contact with other inmates.
Monday marks the first day of crucial motions in YNW Melly’s defense team will argue in front of a Broward County judge, in hopes of getting evidence thrown out of court.
State prosecutors say Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, convinced a key witness in his first double murder trial not to take the stand back in the Summer of 2023. The trial ended in a mistrial.
The more serious charges against Demons are two counts of first-degree murder. He’s accused of shooting and killing two childhood friends in October of 2018, and then trying to make it look like a drive-by shooting.
Demons’ attorneys are asking the judge in the tampering trial not to tell jurors that he’s charged with murder. They claim allowing that would be “highly prejudicial and of limited… value.”
In another motion, the defense wants the judge to prohibit music lyrics published by Demons. They argue, “None of the lyrics were written during the time the alleged crimes of Witness Tampering occurred. The lyrics are irrelevant to Demons’ innocence or guilt.”
Defense attorneys are also asking that Demons’ social media records from 2018 and 2019 not be allowed in the tampering case, because they were posted four or more years before the tampering allegedly happened.
Demons could face the death penalty in the double murder case, but that retrial isn’t scheduled to start until next year.
We can expect to see Demons dressed in plain clothes for court on Monday. The judge has already granted a request for him not to have to wear his jail jumpsuit.
Demons’ tampering with a witness case is set to start with jury selection on Jan. 21.
