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YNW Melly is facing more issues before he's set to stand trial once again.
According to a report TMZ published on Wednesday, October 4, the Florida rapper has been hit with a new charge of witness tampering ahead of his second double-murder trial. The charge was filed in Miami-Dade County just days after his co-defendant Cortlen "YNW Bortlen" Henry was hit with the same charge police raided Henry's home earlier this week. Melly's team is supposed to attend a hearing on Friday to argue their recent motion to dismiss based on the prosecution's alleged misconduct, and they believe the new charge is just a distraction.
"This is a transparent and desperate attempt by the State Attorney's office to distract the public from the deposition of an Assistant State Attorney who accused this case's lead detective and lead prosecutor of felonies by falsifying and covering up evidence damaging to the state's case," Melly's attorney Raven Liberty told TMZ.
Melly's legal team allege that the State withheld unfavorable evidence about the lead detective on the "Murder On My Mind" rapper's case, Detective Mark Moretti. They're convinced that the leading prosecutor purposely paused an internal affairs investigation and a potential criminal investigation against Moretti. They also believe that there are more instances of prosecutorial misconduct.
“In essence, the State has intentionally done whatever it could to sanitize Detective Moretti’s actions so they would not be fodder for cross-examination during trial,” YNW Melly’s lawyers wrote. “Although the defense has only uncovered the tip of the iceberg in this matter, this tip is sufficient for this Court to determine the Defendant’s Due Process Rights, as guaranteed by the United States Constitution through the Fourteenth Amendment, and the parallel provisions of the Florida Constitution, that his fundamental rights have been violated and that the only remedy is dismissal and to let him free."
Broward Circuit Judge John J. Murphy will determine whether or not the motion will make a difference in Melly's case. Jury selection for the rapper's retrial is set to begin next week.