YNW Melly‘s lawyer has filed a motion to suppress evidence against the rapper, claiming that the Apple iPhone X seized on the night that YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser were killed was done so with a legally deficient affidavit.
According to court documents obtained by HipHopDX, Jamie Benjamin filed the motion — the 11th in the case so far — with the Broward County clerk on Thursday (November 16).
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Benjamin claims that there was no probable cause to seize and search the phone, and the basis on which the affidavit was signed — and the subsequent warrant was issued — was, therefore, a violation of the Fourth Amendment and 14th Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure.
Furthermore, the motion to suppress reveals that the affidavit was signed by Det. Moretti, who has already faced his fair share of legal hurdles thanks to his alleged intimidation of witnesses in the first double homicide trial that ended in a mistrial.
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What’s more, Det. Moretti failed to fill out the paperwork the way he was supposed to, including input information like “whether Detective Moretti had any familiarity with homicide investigations” and failing to indicate “what education, training, or experience he had” in such investigations.
Judge John Murphy has yet to rule on the motion.
YNW Melly’s lawyer wants cell phone suppressed due to "legally insufficient" affidavit pic.twitter.com/q06aT5j01m
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) November 17, 2023
YNW Melly’s team have been enjoying a series of wins in court, with their most recent coming last week when the defense team succeeded in having the jury struck down thanks to a legal misstep by the state — a move that was met with strong consternation by the prosecution.
In a memorandum of law filed on November 8 and obtained by HipHopDX, Assistant State Attorney Alexandra Bucklew stated that she, on behalf of the state of Florida, objected to the dismissal of the jury during the voir dire process due to the defense’s claim of an improper line of questioning — a seemingly minor misstep that resulted in the entire jury being dismissed at the defense’s request, and a request which was agreed to by Judge John Murphy.
What’s more, Bucklew remarked that the state of Florida was afraid of being unduly prejudiced if, indeed, the defense continued to raise objections about the empaneled jurors.
“The State fears that every time the State objects, and the objection is sustained, the Defense will move to start over because it ‘affects their credibility with the jurors,’” she wrote in part.
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YNW Melly is accused of conspiring with YNW Bortlen in October 2018 to kill their two friends, YNW Juvy (Christopher Thomas Jr.) and YNW Sakchaser (Anthony Williams), and stage their deaths as a drive-by shooting.
If YNW Melly is convicted, he could face the death penalty.
