Rising Florida rapper YNW Melly, born Jamell Demons, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection to the October shooting deaths of two of his crew members, Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr.
Cortlen Henry was arrested last month and charged for the same crime. Miramar Police, representing the Florida city where Williams and Thomas Jr. were pronounced dead, tweeted tonight that Demons shot and killed the victims and that he and Henry “staged the crime scene to resemble a drive-by shooting.”
Police have said that Williams and Thomas Jr. were last seen alive on October 26 in Fort Lauderdale and were transported to a hospital emergency room in Miramar where they were pronounced dead later that day. Williams and Thomas Jr. were reportedly driven to the hospital in a gray Jeep that arrived at the site with a shattered rear window.
Demons’ attorney Bradford Cohen described Williams and Thomas Jr. as the rapper’s “best friends” to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Both victims were aspiring rappers themselves who recorded under the names YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy, respectively. “They Took My Brothers From Me Over Jealousy,” Demons wrote on Facebook the day after their deaths.
Demons last month released his second mixtape We All Shine featuring a guest appearance by Kanye West. A representative for the rapper declined to comment after this post was published.
