Prosecutors wrapped up their case in the double murder trial of YNW Melly on Monday with the testimony of detective Mark Moretti, who claims the rapper sent a message to a friend admitting he "did that," in regards to the shooting.
According to the Miami Herald, the prosecution has spent weeks attempting to prove that Melly had been using a specific phone. Moretti alleges the phone number was linked to Melly's Facebook account. The rapper's attorney argues the device was considered a communal phone used by those in the home where he and his friends lived.
Prosector Kristine Bradley read through an Instagram exchange between YNW Melly and Peezy Gambino on Oct. 25, 2018, where the two talked about merch and getting an old iPhone. Moretti alleges Peezy asked Melly if he was OK the following day, to which the rapper responded, "I did that," adding, "Shhhh."
Melly's attorney Stuart Adelstein provided 19 pages worth of text messages showing his client commonly spells "that" as "dat."
"These phone messages that the state introduced...pages that we painfully went through, he spells it d-a-t, not t-h-a-t,” Adelstein said. “What a strange thing."
Bradley referenced a number of messages in which Melly used the word "that," and brought up a song titled "Melly Fix That" to support the prosecution's argument.
The prosecution is relying on the alleged "I did that" message and a shooting reconstruction in order to prove that Melly fatally shot Anthony Williams (YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy) in 2018, as reported by the Miami New Times.
In his testimony, Broward Sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Williams claimed Juvy's left cheek had "tattooing," a wound typically associated with someone who had been shot at close range. Williams alleges the blood splatter on the ceiling of the vehicle proves Sakchaser was also shot from close range in the back of his head.
It is alleged that Melly was sitting in the back seat of the driver's side when the shooting occurred.
The defense will begin calling their own witnesses on Tuesday.
