YNW Melly's legal battle continues, and now, he's enlisted a high-profile attorney to join his team. AllHipHop's Mike Winslow reports that the artist recently submitted a motion to replace his former attorneys with new ones. This includes Drew Findling, who's represented a slew of celebrity clients including Donald Trump. He's also worked with the likes of NBA YoungBoy, Cardi B, GloRilla, and other rappers. Reportedly, Melly also has his eye on Carey Haughwout, another defense lawyer based in Florida.
As for why he wants to switch up his legal team, his motion cites a potential conflict of interest related to attorney Raven Liberty. While Liberty has not been charged with anything at the time of writing, she is under investigation for alleged witness tampering. A judge has yet to rule on the motion.
Melly is facing two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that he was involved in the 2018 deaths of his two associates, YNW Juvy and YNW SakChaser.
YNW Bortlen Plea Deal
Earlier this week, his co-defendant Cortlen "YNW Bortlen" Henry accepted a plea deal only one day before jury selection in his trial was set to begin. Bortlen was facing two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of accessory after the fact. He was additionally facing charges related to a 2023 witness tampering case. He pleaded no contest to the accessory after the fact charges and to two charges in the witness tampering case. The first-degree murder charges have since been dropped, meaning he will not serve a life sentence.
Instead, he's agreed to spend ten years in prison and six years on probation. He's also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the future.
As news of the plea deal made its rounds online, he shared a freestyle from jail, addressing some common misconceptions. "What the f*ck I look like taking a deal that hurt my n****s?," he asked. "Free me and Melly."
