YNW Melly has filed a request to replace his current legal team with veteran attorneys Drew Findling
and Carey Haughwout due to a criminal investigation into one of his defense lawyers. He made the filing in a Florida court on Wednesday morning. Findling previously represented several other hip-hop artists, including Lil Durk and YFN Lucci.
The motion explains: "On December 18, 2024, one member of the defense team was informed by Apple that all Apple account information (from the time she has been representing Mr. Demons) had been turned over to the Broward County Sheriff Department a year earlier (December, 2023) pursuant to a warrant. This information had never been relayed to the defense by the prosecution. When the issue was raised in the trial court, it was revealed that the subpoena was issued as part of an ongoing criminal investigation of one of the team of Mr. Demons' counselors by the Broward State Attorney Office. However, the State has been unwilling to share any information as to the nature of the investigation."
When Is YNW Melly's Retrial?
Authorities originally arrested YNW Melly back in 2019, charging him with two counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of his former friends, YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser. He has pleaded not guilty. His first trial kicked off in 2023. It ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. For now, Melly will remain behind bars at Broward County Jail until his retrial begins in January 2027.
The update on Melly's legal representation comes after AllHipHop's Grouchy Greg Watkins reported that U.S. Magistrate Judge Melissa Damian dismissed the rapper’s habeas corpus petition on Tuesday. The rapper had claimed he was being subjected to inhumane conditions and that his constitutional rights were being violated behind bars. The judge ruled that that Melly needs to exhaust all available state-level options before seeking help in federal court.
