Florida state prosecutors have dropped their witness tampering charges against rapper YNW Melly ahead of his double murder retrial set for January 2027.
The surprise decision came a day before jury selection was set to begin in the case. State prosecutors in Broward dismissed all four charges in the case: witness tampering; directing the activities of a criminal gang; criminal solicitation to commit murder; and conspiracy to tamper with a witness on a capital case.
The charges involved allegations that Melly, 26, tried to dissuade a witness from testifying at his 2023 double murder trial, which ended with a hung jury. Demons’ double murder retrial is now set for January 2027.
The rapper, born Jamell Demons, stood trial in 2023 on two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said Demos shot and killed his longtime friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. on Oct. 26, 2018, and then conspired with another man, Cortlen Henry, to stage a drive-by shooting. Prosecutors claimed Demons and Henry fired at Henry’s Jeep to make it look like they were targeted too. Demons pleaded not guilty and could have faced the death penalty if convicted as charged.
A spokesman for Broward County State Attorney, Harold F. Pryor, had no immediate comment on the decision to drop the tampering case when reached by Rolling Stone on Monday. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Demons’ lawyers said they welcomed the dismissal of the tampering and gang-related charges.
“As his newly retained legal team, it became immediately apparent to us that no crimes had occurred. Unfortunately, for 652 days while these charges were pending, the state did not reach the same conclusion until the cusp of trial,” lawyers Drew Findling and Carey Haughwout said. “We now look forward to seeking Mr. Demons’ release from custody, where he has been held under extraordinarily restrictive conditions for far too long based on premises the state has now abandoned. His release will allow him to fully and meaningfully participate in preparing his defense in the forthcoming proceedings, which we intend to litigate vigorously.”
Henry reached a plea deal with prosecutors in September and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on witness tampering and accessory after the fact charges.
The murder case previously was set for retrial in October 2023 and then September 2025, but it was postponed over evidence issues. The latest trial date would take place eight years after the rapper was arrested in the case.
“Mr. Demons has now been in custody for 2,202 days, and if one state attorney is not available, maybe one of the other two assigned to this case can stand in, and if all three are not available, maybe one of the 150 state attorneys upstairs might sit in,” said Judge Martin S. Fein reportedly said last February, according to NBC Miami.
