Rising rap star YNW Melly has been arrested and charged with the double murder of two of his friends. The Miramar Police Department charged YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, alongside YNW Bortlen — real name Cortlen Henry — for the murders of Christopher Thomas Jr., better known as YNW Sakchaser, and Anthony Williams, aka YNW Juvy.
The investigators allege that YNW Melly murdered his two friends and staged a drive-by shooting to cover up the crime, which occurred on October 26 last year.
The Murder on my Mind rapper proclaimed his innocence before turning himself in by stating the following on his Instagram page.
“To all my fans and supporters no I did not get locked up in Washington, but I am turning myself in today I want you guys to know I love you and appreciate every single one of y’all, a couple months ago I lost my two brothers by violence and now the system wants to find justice,” Melly said to his 1 million followers alongside a photo of himself, YNW Bortlen and the two friends he is accused of killing.
He continued with the following: “Unfortunately a lot of rumors and lies are being said but no worries god is with me and my brother @ynw.bortlen and we want y’all to remember it’s a ynw Family I love you @ynwsakchaser1 and @ynwjuvy #freeus.”
The two victims YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy grew up with Melly. The pair appeared in a short documentary about Jamell Demons’ life.
At the end of the documentary, YNW Melly paid a tribute to his friends with a caption reading the following: “Four days after the completion of this film, YNW Melly and his friends were the targets of a drive-by shooting in Miami, Florida.” As Melly looked at the ocean it finally read: “YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser were killed.”
After a police investigation, investigators claim that the forensic evidence led them to believe Demons staged the drive-by shooting and shot his friends. Cortlen Henry reportedly drove two victims to the hospital in a vehicle that had the back windows shot out.
Both Henry and YNW Melly have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. YNW Melly is currently in police custody in Broward County without bond.