YNW Melly's Associate Pleads Not Guilty To Double-Murder Charges

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Cortlen Henry joins YNW Melly in pleading not guilty to the double murder of their friends.

YNW Melly's career was just beginning to take off when he was arrested on first-degree murder charges. He and his friend Cortlen Henry were accused of staging the murder of their childhood friends, Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams. Melly already entered a not guilty plea in the case and now, Henry has followed suit.

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Henry pleaded not guilty to the crimes he's accused of committing as he "stood mute" while the charges were announced, spokeswoman for the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, Paula McMahon told TCPalm. Henry appeared in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom on Monday morning. Melly pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charges earlier this month.

Police said that Melly was the shooter in the incident while Henry helped stage the shooting to make it look like a drive-by. They said that Melly and Henry then drove around with the dead bodies in the car before heading to the hospital. Prosecutors have 45 days after the arraignment to determine whether they'll be pushing for the death penalty against the two.

Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams were both members of the YNW crew. Thomas was known as YNW Juvy and Williams went by YNW Sakchaser.

Earlier this month, footage of Melly's mother making claims against one of the victims surfaced. She claimed that YNW Sakchaser once threatened her with a gun. It's unsure when the footage was actually filmed but Melly's mom definitely had some words to say about Sakchaser. Peep that here.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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