The YNW Melly trial has continued in a Broward County, FL courtroom — and the testimony from this latest portion of the trial has proved to be nothing if not interesting.
The Sun-Sentinel (via Yahoo!) reported that undercover detective Danny Polo took the stand on Thursday (June 22) wearing a ski mask to conceal his identity.
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“Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy permitted Polo to testify with his face covered because Polo has received death threats from people unrelated to the Demons case,” reported the outlet.
However, it’s worth noting that such a move may prove to be a mistake for the prosecution, as the outlet confirmed that the case of Avsenew v. State — another homicide case with the death penalty attached as a potential punishment — was overturned, and a new trial ordered, because of a similar situation to the YNW Melly trial.
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“The state could have chosen any expert in gangs,” the defense lawyer said, per the outlet. “They elected to choose one who has threats against his life that don’t concern this case, and who is undercover. They have precipitated this problem.”
Still, despite what seems to be this latest prosecutorial snafu, the YNW Melly trial continues after Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial on Tuesday (June 20).
The defense believed the jury had been tainted following testimony from Felicia Holmes, the mother of Melly’s ex-girlfriend, that couldn’t be verified.
But the judge denied a mistrial on Tuesday (June 20), telling defense attorneys that jurors could be instructed to ignore statements that were ruled inadmissible.
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“The state has ruined my life,” Holmes stated in her testimony on Thursday (June 15), while claiming she’d been “inundated” with threats from the state of Florida about prosecution and eventual imprisonment if she didn’t cooperate.
This prompted David Howard, one of the Florida native’s attorneys, to declare that there had been a “prejudicial fiasco” in court.
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“This jury sat there and watched this fiasco unfold with at least 10, maybe 15 sidebars, after every two questions,” he said, adding that the jury had been “tainted.”
YNW Melly (real name Jamell Demons) was arrested and charged with two counts of premeditated murder in 2019 and faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and he could get the death penalty if convicted.
