Overview
- YNW Melly, legal name Jamell Demons, was denied bond in a 39-page order issued by Judge Martin S. Fein on Wednesday, May 6, keeping him in jail before his next trial.
- Fein wrote that the state's case is "arguably sufficient to convict" and not materially contradicted, a strength-of-evidence finding that weighed against release.
- Defense lawyers Drew Findling and Carey Haughwout condemned the ruling, saying Demons has spent more than seven years in custody with the last three in solitary confinement, and they contrasted that with a judge’s recent apology to Cole Allen for days in solitary.
- The retrial is set for January 2027 after a 2023 proceeding ended in a hung jury, extending a detention that began with Demons' 2019 arrest and leaving him jailed for years without a verdict.
- Prosecutors accuse Demons of killing friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. on Oct. 26, 2018, and allege co-defendant Cortlen Henry helped stage a drive-by, with the case carrying a possible death sentence if he is convicted.