FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (AP) – A deadlocked jury prompted a mistrial on Saturday in the South Florida trial of rapper YNW Melly on charges that he murdered two of his friends five years ago.
The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations.
Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will likely choose to retry the case with a new jury. A unanimous verdict is required to convict or acquit a defendant.
Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy twice asked the jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked, but relented after they came back a third time.
Prosecutors said YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, shot Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr while they were all inside a Jeep. Williams and Thomas were both part of the YNW collective, known respectively as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.
Prosecutors said the shooting was part of a gang action, while defence attorneys said that claim lacks credibility because Demons and the victims were close friends.
According to prosecutors, Demons, Williams and Thomas were riding in a Jeep driven by Cortland Henry, known as YNW Bortlen, after a recording session in Fort Lauderdale on October 26, 2018.
They said Demons fatally shot Williams and Thomas. Henry is charged as an accomplice in the case and will be tried separately.
