Jamell 'YNW Melly' Demons no longer faces death penalty if convicted at double murder trial

After concluding prosecutors missed a crucial filing deadline, a Broward circuit judge ruled the state can no longer seek the death penalty against Jamell “YNW Melly” Demons if the Gifford rapper is convicted in the 2018 murders of two recording partners.

Demons, 23, has been at the Broward County Jail since 2019 after being arrested on capital murder charges related to the shooting deaths of Anthony Williams — aka YNW Sakchaser — and Christopher Thomas Jr. — aka YNW Juvy.

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Thomas, 19, of Gifford, and Williams, 21, of Fort Pierce, were shot and killed Oct. 26, 2018 during what authorities later called a staged drive-by shooting. Demons and his codefendant, Cortlen Henry, 23 — aka YNW Bortlen — were jailed in February 2019, court records show.

Police and prosecutors have said the pair faked a drive-by shooting with Demons as the gunman, and Henry as the driver, who took Williams and Thomas to the Everglades and then drove their bodies to a hospital in Miramar.

Henry, who faces two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon and two counts of assessory after the fact, was freed from jail in June 2020 after posting $180,000 bond. He's now on house arrest

Demons remains incarcerated at the Broward County Jail.

He was initially indicted Feb. 7, 2019 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm. The state on April 18, 2019 filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty alleging in part, “the capital felony was committed for pecuniary (monetary) gain.”

The notice was filed within 45 days of Demons’ arraignment, which trial rules required.

February indictment

Demons’ capital murder trial has been delayed several times, and this latest legal twist started in February after prosecutors empaneled a new grand jury which returned a superseding indictment, charging him with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm but included new language that the killings were “committed for the purpose of benefitting, promoting or furthering the interests of a criminal gang.”

Prosecutors though, didn’t renew a notice of intent to seek the death penalty, which Demons’ attorneys argued violated trial rules.

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In April, his lawyers filed papers asking Broward County Circuit Judge Andrew Siegel to prohibit the state from seeking the death penalty after prosecutors failed to file another notice within 45 days of Demons’ arraignment on March 2.

State prosecutors countered that their initial notice was still in effect and they were in full compliance with trial rules.

Siegel disagreed.

In an order released July 6, Siegal sided with the defense and ruled the state was required to file a renewed notice of intent to seek the death penalty under trial rules updated by the Florida Supreme Court in 2016.

“The notice of intent to seek the death penalty pertaining to the original indictment is not sufficient to meet the state’s notice requirement as it pertains to the superseding indictment,” Siegel ruled. “To permit the state to see the death penalty when it has not complied with the 45-day notice requirement would run clearly counter to the requirements of the rule and intent of the Florida Supreme Court …”

Court records show the state immediately appealed Siegel’s ruling to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, in West Palm Beach.

On Wednesday, the appeals panel denied the state’s request for “emergency treatment” and noted the filing would be “handled in the normal course of business.”

It’s unclear when the appeals court may rule on the matter.

Records show Demons has a status hearing scheduled July 21.

Henry, meanwhile, was expected in court Friday.

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While free on bond, he was arrested in April 2021 and charged with probation violation after he was tracked to bars and gentlemen’s clubs over two days in late March, which violated the terms of his release, court records show.

In late August, the court reinstated the terms of his bail and increased his degree of confinement to “Level 1 house arrest” which confined him to his court-approved Miami address for 24 hours a day.

Henry is asking to modify his pretrial release and is seeking ‘the ability to be able to have some movement to go to studios to record or otherwise attend his business,” attorney Fred Haddad wrote May 25.

State prosecutors though, objected to the request.

Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: YNW Melly trial: State appeals ruling prohibiting death penalty