YNW Melly recruits President Donald Trump’s former lawyer for double murder trial
YNW Melly is ditching his legal team. The Florida rapper, who is facing double murder charges, has decided to hire President Donald Trump’s former lawyer.
In a new motion filed on September 10th, Melly (real name Jamell Demons) has requested that Drew Findling represent him in the courtroom moving forward. His request also includes another attorney, Carey Haughwout.
Findling has worked with various rappers, including Lil Baby, DaBaby, Gucci Mane, NBA YoungBoy, Offset, and many others.
Melly has been represented by Raven Liberty, Stuart Adelstein, Daniel Aaronson, and two others since his arrest.
According to NBC 6 South Florida, court documents mention a conflict of interest with Liberty, who is being investigated by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
The motion to change his representatives states, “Mr Demons’ current team may be unable to fully litigate this issue without fear of further recrimination in the criminal case against one of the team.”
Speaking on the switch-up, criminal defence attorney Joshua Rydell said, “You see it more frequently in high-profile capital cases. Something you can read into this is especially the lawyers that are attempting to come in. They specialise in different things, have different profiles, that could be something the defendant wants in the case.”
Melly is accused of killing his childhood friends, YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser, in October 2018, and is facing a potential death penalty or life sentence. His first trial ended with a hung jury, with a retrial scheduled for January 2027.
Earlier this week, his co-defendant, YNW Bortlen, accepted a plea deal that dismissed two counts of first-degree murder, one count of witness tampering, and directing the activities of a criminal gang. He was sentenced to 10 years.