The YNW Melly trial has taken a rancorous turn now that the rapper’s lawyers have accused the state of prosecutorial misconduct.
According to court documents obtained by HipHopDX, the “Murder on My Mind” rapper (real name Jamell Demons) is accusing the prosecution of underhanded tricks to try to secure a conviction. Specifically, Melly’s team claims that the case’s lead detective Mark Moretti asked a Broward Sheriff’s deputy to lie about being present when Moretti executed a search warrant, and used excessive force while executing the warrant — on Melly’s mother Jamie King — as well.
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Assistant State Attorney Michelle Boutros is caught in the middle. She was present during the interrogation at issue, and accused Moretti of unethical behavior when she talked to defense lawyers. Melly’s attorneys called the whole thing a coverup.
However, an investigation by the internal affairs department of the Miramar Police department came to the conclusion that Boutros’s statements about Moretti contradicted what she said in the moment, as well as the accounts of other witnesses, all of which found no issues with the detective’s actions.
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Because of all of this, YNW Melly’s lawyers are asking the entire state attorney’s office to be recused from any participation in the case, either as prosecutors or witnesses — including lead prosecutor Kristine Bradley.
In response, the prosecution has filed a response to Judge John H. Murphy, calling Melly’s lawyers “flawed” and encouraging Judge Murphy to find in their favor and allow the office to participate.
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The prosecution says that Bradley should be allowed to argue the case.
“Defendant’s flawed reasoning and rank speculation provides no grounds to disqualify the Office of the State Attorney […] and accordingly his motion must be DENIED,” it continues. “A court should hesitate to impose the drastic measure of disqualification of Government counsel. Recusal should be granted only when necessary.”
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The judge is expected to rule on the matter, and decide on all other outstanding motions, over the next week.
Meanwhile, YNW Melly has also been accused of witness tampering by that same state attorney’s office, which the rapper’s lawyers are saying is merely a “distraction” from their misconduct.
Melly’s double murder retrial was originally scheduled to begin on October 9 after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in July’s trial.
However, due to these allegations, the jury selection in the retrial has been delayed by at least a week.
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The 24-year-old stands accused of murdering his friends YNW Sakchaser (real name Anthony Williams) and YNW Juvy (real name Christopher Thomas Jr.) in October 2018, and then staging the crime scene to look like a drive-by shooting.
