YNW Melly is firing his lawyers after his double-murder trial was postponed until 2027, replacing them with a famed hip hop criminal defense attorney who’s previously repped Cardi B, Lil Durk and Lil Nas X.
In a court filing Wednesday, the rapper (Jamell Demons) tells a Florida judge that an ongoing criminal investigation into his current legal team has created a conflict of interest that “makes it impossible” for them to continue defending him in the long-running case.
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“It is unknown the exact nature of the investigation but an attorney being under criminal investigation by the same prosecutorial body would constitute a conflict of interest,” Melly’s new lawyers write in the court filings, obtained by Billboard, later adding that his lawyers might have “fear of further recrimination” if they vigorously litigate the case.
Once a fast-rising hip-hop star, Melly has sat in jail since 2019 awaiting a verdict on murder charges over accusations that he and another man shot and killed his close friends Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas, Jr. in 2018.
That case has been endlessly delayed — first by COVID-19, then by a long-running death penalty appeal, then by a hung-jury mistrial, and now by another appeal over evidence. Earlier this month, a judge postponed the trial until January 2027 — nearly eight years after the rapper was first arrested.
Wednesday’s filing cited the supposed criminal investigation, not the recent delay, as the reason for the change in lawyers. Though it did not say which of Melly’s current attorneys are under investigation, courtroom proceedings in January indicated that the target of the probe is Raven Liberty, Melly’s longtime lead counsel, according to NBC6 South Florida.
Liberty and the rest of Melly’s current legal team — Daniel Aaronson, Stuart Adelstein, Peter Patanzo and James S. Benjamin — have all consented to the change in legal teams, according to Wednesday’s filing. Liberty did not immediately return a request for comment.
Taking over Melly’s case will be Drew Findling, a veteran Atlanta criminal attorney with who’s-who list of powerhouse hip-hop clients. In past cases, Findling defended Cardi B on charges of assault in a Queens strip club; repped Offset on drug and gun charges following a 2018 traffic stop; and helped Gucci Mane secure a plea deal on federal gun charges.
Melly’s case will join a packed docket for Findling. He’s repping Lil Durk in his federal murder-for-hire case, as well as GloRilla on Georgia drug charges handed down last month. And as of last week, he’s also representing Lil Nas X as he fights felony battery charges for allegedly lunging at police officers in Los Angeles.
Joining Findling on Melly’s case will be Carey Haughwout, a Florida attorney who recently retired to private practice after serving as Palm Beach County’s public defender for more than two decades.
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In Wednesday’s filing, Melly’s soon-to-be lawyers said shed new light on the apparent probe into his attorneys, which prosecutors have not publicly disclosed. It said defense lawyers only learned about the investigation because Apple alerted them that some information had been turned over to the Broward County Sheriff Department, adding, “This information had never been relayed to the defense by the prosecution.”
One key fear for Melly’s new lawyers is that an unannounced investigation into one of the defense lawyers may have scooped up “protected attorney-client communications” — and that they will not be able to effectively fight back.
“Mr. Demons’ current team may be unable to fully litigate this issue without fear of further recrimination in the criminal case against one of the team,” Haughwout writes in the new motion.
