YNW Melly’s murder trial resumed on Monday (July 10) in Broward County, Florida, following a week-long hiatus. As the jury reconvened, the prosecution called its final two witnesses, one of whom provided potentially damaging evidence against the “Murder On My Mind” artist.
A former acquaintance of the rapper, Treveon Miliak Glass, testified that he noticed Melly wearing “different clothes” following the shooting of YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser. Glass allegedly scheduled a 12-hour studio session with Melly at the New Era Recording Studios in Fort Lauderdale, FL for Oct. 28, 2018.
However, that same day, he was awakened by relentless calls notifying him about the incident. Upon arriving at rapper Fredo Bang’s residence, where Melly allegedly fled to, Glass reportedly spotted Melly wearing different attire after seeing him hours prior.
In addition to Glass’ testimony, Melly and his defense suffered a setback when Sgt. Christopher Williams took the stand on June 28. He concluded that the lethal bullets that caused the fatalities were fired from within the car occupied by the victims, contradicting earlier speculations of an outside attack.
“The shooting was initiated by someone inside the vehicle,” Williams told the jury as he reconstructed the crime scene. He revealed that the bullets’ trajectories and the victims’ wounds did not suggest a drive-by shooting. It was disclosed that Juvy, born Christopher Thomas Jr., suffered a close-range headshot while facing forward.
Sgt. Williams observed an abrasion ring around the entry wound, supporting the close-range firing theory. He also suggested that these key details were possibly overlooked during initial assessments due to a focus on the drive-by speculations.
Charged with double counts of premeditated murder in 2019, Melly could face the dire consequence of life imprisonment without parole if found guilty. An even grimmer reality could be the imposition of the death penalty following a new statute that permits jurors to recommend it with an 8-4 vote.
Although the defense insists YNW Melly was not in the car when the homicides occurred, the unrecovered murder weapon and incriminating mobile phone data suggest otherwise.
