A Florida rapper whose double murder case ended in a mistrial in August has been hit with new criminal charges.
YNW Melly and his accomplice YNW Bortlen are accused of gunning down two aspiring rappers and staging the scene to make it look like a drive-by shooting in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 2018.
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Melly was tried first, but his case ended in a mistrial in August when a “manipulative” female juror convinced two other jurors not to convict him. The final vote was 9-3 for conviction.
Now Melly and Bortlen are both facing witness tampering charges.
Authorities say they developed a “sophisticated system” using singer Rihanna as a code name to communicate with individuals outside of the Broward County Jail.
According to documents, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Melly and Bortlen both actively worked behind the scenes to keep key witnesses from testifying in their double-murder trials (Bortlen will be tried at a later date).
Officials say Melly lost his phone privileges due to disciplinary violations in jail. So he used the phone privileges of another inmate to pass word to the outside — sometimes in calls to Bortlen, who was out on bond at the time.
Bortlen, real name Cortlen Henry, was arrested in Miami on Monday, Oct. 2, and charged with tampering with witnesses.
According to the documents, there were references made to “Rihanna” and “A$AP Rocky’s baby mama” staying behind in a “Maybach” — which prosecutors believe was code for instructing a particular female witness not to appear at the trial. Prosecutors note that the woman, in fact, did not show up at YNW Melly’s trial.
Melly’s lawyer told TMZ Hip Hop the claims are a “desperate attempt” on the part of prosecutors after they failed to get a conviction during the first trial.
Prosecutors will retry Melly’s double murder case again next week. However, Melly is seeking to have the prosecutors removed from the case before then.
The witness tampering charged by itself carries a potential sentence of life in prison.
YNW Melly, who was born Jamell Demons, remains behind bars without bond. He has been in custody since Feb. 12, 2019.
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