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YNW Melly Argued Over Money & Credit With Friends He Allegedly Killed
YNW Melly Argued Over Money & Credit With YNW Juvy & YNW SakChaser
There was conflict among the rappers in the YNW collective, jurors learned Wednesday. Jamell YNW Melly Demons appeared to be upset because his fellow rappers were getting too much money and credit for his artistic contributions to their work.
Text messages that are purportedly between Demons and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams were displayed in court Tuesday, offering jurors their first indication that Demons’ relationship with the eventual victims sometimes could be contentious.
Defense lawyers argued that the messages have not been properly authenticated, but Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy allowed jurors to hear how Miramar Police Detective Mark Moretti built the case and determined that Demons killed Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas.
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Prosecutors say Demons was in the back of a Jeep driven by Cortland “YNW Bortlen” Henry early on Oct. 26, 2018, along with the victims, when Demons opened fire and killed them. Demons and Henry then shot into the Jeep from the outside to make it look like the men had been killed in a drive-by. But forensic and reconstruction experts testified the bullets that killed Williams and Thomas came from inside the car.
Defense lawyers made a point during opening statements last month that Demons had no motive to kill his friends. Jurors will have to decide whether the text messages shown in court Tuesday can be interpreted as a motive for murder.
“Y’all actin like y’all bosses,” Demons allegedly said in one message from August 2018, two months before the murders. “Money ain’t right without my drip so get rite or sum gone flop.” Moretti translated the slang as Demons demanding more credit and payment for his creative input.
“Ima pay you back for everything did for me every idea all dat,” Williams responded. “We always gone be brothers.”In another message, Demons asked Williams about the location of an object he called “fye,” which Moretti said could have been code for “fire,” meaning a weapon. Williams replied that the item was in a shoebox in his closet.
The exchange does not put a gun in the hand of the defendant, especially not at the time of the murders. Moretti has yet to be cross-examined by the defense.
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