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YNW Melly will finally face his second murder trial this fall after nearly two years of delays.
According to a recent report the Sun Sentinel published, jury selection for the Broward County native's upcoming trial is set to begin in September. Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein ruled on Wednesday, July 9, that the trial will move forward as scheduled despite objections from state prosecutors. They argued that the upcoming legal proceedings should be delayed while the Fourth District Court of Appeals reviews numerous issues from the first trial. However, Judge Fein disagreed and ordered the second trial to commence on September 10.
Melly, born Jamell Demons, has been locked up since he was arrested in 2019 and charged with the murder of Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas. Prosecutors accused the 26-year-old rapper of fatally shooting his two friends and convincing his other associate, Cortlen “YNW Bortlen” Henry, to drop their bodies off at a hospital. They claimed they were shot in a drive-by shooting; however, Investigators argued that Demons shot them from the backseat of the vehicle after they reviewed surveillance video, witness testimony, and phone records.
Demons went through the first trial in the summer of 2023. Jurors spent over three days deliberating before they eventually became deadlocked. Their failure to reach a unanimous decision forced the judge to end the trial due to a hung jury. A retrial was supposed to take place 90 days later. Unfortunately, several issues caused the trial to be pushed back several times.
One issue stemmed from the original judge's ruling that some of the evidence that prosecutors used to establish Demons' alleged motives can't be used in the second trial. The prosecution appealed the ruling and managed to delay the trial until the Fourth District Court of Appeals reviewed the case. Their appeal is set to be argued on September 16. Nonetheless, Judge Fein feels that the issues in question aren't severe enough to delay Demons' second trial any longer.