Photo: Getty Images
YNW Melly has opted not to testify in his double murder trial.
The "Mixed Personalities" rapper informed the judge of his decision after the prosecution and the defense rested their respective cases on Tuesday, July 18. Judge John Murphy III did well to explain the options to Melly before he ultimately made up his mind. His decision came down after the final witnesses took the stand. The prosecution called upon Miramar Detective Mark Moretti, who got caught up in a heated cross examination from defense attorney Stuart Adelson. Meanwhile, the defense called upon their only witness Adrian Davis, who asserted that me, Melly and the victims were all best friends.
Davis testified that there were no issues between Melly, Anthony "YNW SakChaser" Williams and Christopher "YNW Juvy" Thomas. He also explained that he was with the rapper when they found out that the victims were killed. Davis said that Melly and everyone they were with burst into tears upon learning the horrible news.
YNW Melly stands accused of fatally shooting Juvy and SakChaser in 2018. The prosecution argued that Melly made the crime scene look like a drive-by shooting and recruited his friend Cortlen "YNW Bortlen" Henry to drop off their bodies at a local hospital. Toward the end of the hearing, the prosecutor referred to its earliest piece of evidence, which is a text message Melly allegedly sent that said "I did that shh." Melly's attorney argued that his client usually spells "that" as "dat," which casted doubt on the prosecution's evidence.
Closing arguments are set for Thursday. If convicted, YNW Melly faces the death penalty.