YNW Melly Wants YNW Bortlen & His Girlfriend’s Phone Calls Excluded From Retrial

BYCaroline Fisher4.9K Views
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Murda Beatz 25th Birthday + GRAMMY Celebration
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: YNW Melly attends Murda Beatz 25th Birthday + GRAMMY Celebration on February 08, 2019 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for 2wenty 2wenty Music)
According to Melly's attorneys, the phone calls are "irrelevant" to the case.

YNW Melly has been behind bars since 2019 when he was arrested and accused of murdering two of his associates, YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser. The rapper was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and first went on trial last summer. It was ruled a mistrial after the jury failed to come to a unanimous decision. If convicted, he faces life in prison or the death penalty.

Now, he continues to await his retrial, which was initially slated for October of last year. It's since seen multiple delays. It remains unclear exactly when he'll be retried, but in the meantime, his attorneys have been hard at work. Earlier this week, for example, his team filed a motion to exclude his co-defendant YNW Bortlen's phone conversations with his girlfriend Juneviah Molina from the upcoming retrial.

Melly's Defense Calls Borlen & Juneviah Molina's Phone Calls "Irrelevant"

According to them, the conversations between Bortlen and Molina include nothing but “small talk." His attorneys claim they're “irrelevant, inadmissible hearsay, and lack an evidentiary basis to be used against” Melly. Their motion also argues that YouTube videos featuring 1090 Jake should be prohibited. Since December of last year, prosecutors have been fighting to use Melly's phone records, emails, and social media posts as evidence in the upcoming retrial. They're also looking to use a 20-minute documentary about his rise to fame. Allegedly, it shows him holding a weapon at various times and briefly mentions the deaths of Juvy and Sakchaser.

Last month, Melly was moved to a new facility for the first time since his 2019 arrest, and now resides at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach, FL. He'll remain there until the retrial. What do you think of YNW Melly's team filing a motion to exclude his phone calls with YNW Bortlen from his upcoming double murder retrial? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

About The Author
Caroline Fisher is a News Writer at HotNewHipHop from Chicago, Illinois. She started at HNHH this year, and has since spent her time writing about all that is newsworthy in the world of hip-hop. With a drive for hunting down the hottest stories, she enjoys documenting new developments in culture and entertainment. She also has an appreciation for hip-hop and seeks to cover the most important trends and shifts. She has a Bachelor of Arts which she received at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having graduated in 2022, she majored in English with a concentration in Media, Rhetoric and Cultural Studies. Specializing all things music, pop culture and entertainment, some of her favorite musical artists include Snoop Dogg, OutKast, and Nicki Minaj. When she’s not writing about music she’s also a fan of attending shows, watching the latest movies, staying up-to-date with current events, photography, and poetry.
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