Prosecutors want YNW Melly, who’s currently awaiting trial after being arrested and charged with two counts of murder in 2019, to be subjected to the taking of photographs to—in the words of the State of Florida—“document the gang-affiliated tattoos” of the Just a Matter of Slime artist.
In Feb. 8-dated court documents viewed by Complex, the State of Florida is confirmed to have filed a motion to take photographs of Melly, noting that the photos in question would not be used “for the purpose of having the defendant pose for a reenactment.” Instead, the photographs are described as being intended to document what prosecutors claim are “gang-affiliated tattoos.”
This argument is relevant, it’s argued in the docs, because the State previously listed the “criminal gang member” claim among the aggravators behind its decision to seek the death penalty, as opposed to a life sentence.
As seen in previous documents from 2019, prosecutors have named multiple “aggravating factors” amid the death penalty push, including arguing that the alleged capital felony was done for financial gain and carried out in a “cold, calculated, and premeditated manner.”
When reached for comment by Complex, Paula McMahon—a public information officer at the Broward State Attorney’s Office—offered the following:
“Any comment we have is included in the filed court documents and anything our prosecutor said in public court hearings.”
In March 2019, Melly was reported to have pleaded not guilty to both counts of first-degree murder after being arrested in connection with the murders of Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams. His trial is set to begin in March. Last year, one of Melly’s lawyers issued an extended statement (as part of a larger story for Complex and Spotify’s Infamous podcast) in which prosecutors’ repeated claims of a confession video were refuted.
“In reality, this so-called ‘confession’ video features Melly doing what many music fans do: repeating the lyrics of a favorite song by one of his favorite artists, the song ‘4:30 AM’ by Kevin Gates,” lawyer Raven Liberty said at the time. “Thousands of similar videos are uploaded daily to platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.”
