YNW Melly has been on trial for nearly a month, accused of murdering two of his friends. The young men, YNW Juvy and YNW SakChaser, were killed in 2018. Allegedly, Melly, the two victims, and another associate YNW Bortlen, were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. Bortlen's trial is scheduled to begin on October 2 of this year. According to surveillance footage shown to jurors in court, Bortlen brought the two men to the hospital following the shooting. Sadly, it was too late. Melly claims they were victims of a drive-by shooting, however, investigators have provided evidence that appears to support otherwise. If convicted, Melly will be facing the death penalty.
In court today (July 7), Judge John Murphy denied prosecutors' motion to allow jurors to see the vehicle where the alleged murders took place. “I don’t think it’s gonna assist the jury in any great degree in analyzing the evidence,” the judge told the prosecution, “So, respectfully, the motion is denied.”
YNW Melly's Trial Continues
On June 28, detective Sgt. Christopher Williams testified in court, claiming that the "angles" and trajectory of the victims' bullet wounds weren't consistent with a drive-by shooting. "The shooting happened from somebody inside the car," he stated. According to reports, however, none of Melly's DNA was found in the jeep where the men were killed. Investigators also didn't find gun powder residue on Melly's hands the night of the incident.
YNW Melly has been behind bars in Florida since 2019 for the alleged double murder. The 24-year-old rapper has had a major spike in monthly Spotify listeners since his trial began last month. According to Bryson “Boom” Paul, his streaming numbers have continued to climb. Paul reported earlier this week that he now has 11,906,390 monthly listeners, a 5.4% increase from the week before. The trial has been pretty controversial, with ongoing chatter online about his lawyer Raven Liberty, prosecutors playing his music in the courtroom, and more.