5 Shocking Texts Revealed in YNW Melly’s Double Murder Trial (2023)

Introduction

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A series of text messages allegedly sent by YNW Melly, born Jamell Demons, were presented in the rapper’s double murder trial. The prosecution alleges these messages link Melly to the “Bloods” gang and were sent from a phone they claim was near the victims’ phones that night of the killings. Melly stands accused of gunning down two of his friends and staging the murders as a drive-by shooting. The Law&Crime Network’s Angenette Levy breaks down the five most shocking text messages revealed in the trial so far with retired FBI agent Bobby Chacon.

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Angenette Levy: twitter.com/Angenette5

Guest:
Bobby Chacon: twitter.com/BobbyChaconFBI

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Video

He then asks his mother to buy him a gloss, ASAP and telling her like go now, so she then responds okay.

What's wrong, the jury in ynw, melly's, double murder, trial hears testimony about text, messages, talking guns and gangs.

We look at five of the most shocking from a detective's.

Testimony.

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You can talk to someone obviously and learn a lot about them, but if you look through their cell phone, you'll find out a lot more about.

What's going on in their life, the jury in ynw, melly's murder trial has seen a lot over the last few days about what was going on with Melly.

Before and after the murder of two of his friends, the state says the phone labeled Young Chaser belonged to Mellie.

The defense has questioned whether Mellie always had possession of that phone Mellie, whose legal name is Jamel.

Demons faces two counts of first-degree murder for the October 2018 shooting deaths of his two lifelong friends, ynw members, Chris Thomas, Jr and Anthony Williams.

They went by ynw juvie and ynw Sack Chaser, a co-conspirator Cortland Henry will be tried separately.

Mellie faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted under a new lower threshold of an 8-4 vote.

It used to have to be unanimous joining me to discuss these text.

Messages is somebody who has experience with gangs.

He worked in the FBI for many years has experience in investigating and surveilling gangs he's Bobby Chacon he's.

Also a lawyer Bobby welcome back to sidebar, thanks for coming on great to be back with you thanks Bobby some of these text messages.

You know these are things that maybe just average people aren't used to hearing about one of the text messages that I found particularly interesting between ynw Melly and his mother was one right after the homicides were occurred back in 2018 and he's actually asking his mother to get a gun for him.

So, let's take a listen.

Jamie King is sending a text message to her son.

Send me your location, I'm in Stuart, I love, you so much.

He then sends a return, the location showing at her about the time of the crime as to who was using and doing that.

Okay love you again from Jamie King I'm at your gate, I'm going to get the trash.

The next response is bring Mariah, which you honors already heard.

Testimony that Felicia Holmes her daughter, Mariah Hamilton, was in a dating relationship with this defendant and that at this time, and that there was conversations and that she has identified Mariah as Mariah Hamilton, then there is okay.

He then asks his mother to buy him a gloss, ASAP and telling her like go now, so she then responds okay.

What's wrong, she says: I got your 45s, then his response, I just don't want no illegal gun.

Well, that's not illegal, okay, Bobby! So what I find so interesting about this? There are a couple of things going on here.

First, the defense has tried to argue in this case that, oh this, you know, we don't know if this is melly's phone.

This is not melly's phone well clearly he's talking to his mother talking about bringing his girlfriend Mariah to him and he's asking his mother to purchase him a gun after the homicides right after the homicides occurred.

So the the state I think is trying to say here.

Look this is somebody who's looking for a gun right after the homicides when he tried to purchase a gun before the homicides as well, the murder weapon has never been located.

So do you see where the state's going with this sure? Well, first of all earlier in testimony you had um literally screenshots from some of the FaceTime uh.

You know, videos of you can see the person holding the phone and you can see it's him so the defendant, and so it literally put the phone in this defendant's hand.

So it's harder for them now to say: that's not his phone.

When you've got like one of these selfie screenshots of the person on a FaceTime call holding that phone um, so I think the state really it was, did well to establish that and now you know he will say well, isn't it weird that he's looking for a gun after the murders, but no not in you know not if you consider once they do a murder, you want to get rid of that particular gun that you used in the murder that might be linked ballistically.

So you get rid of that one.

But because you carried out the murder, there might be some retribution.

So you want to get another gun to protect yourself, um, so so I think it makes perfect sense, um and whereas his communication, via text with other gang members, is much more coded with his mom, who may not understand their particular language.

Um code, language uh, you know it's clear: I need a Glock.

Everybody knows what a Glock is.

It's a brand of weapon.

A 45 is a very common and very deadly caliber of a Glock um, and so this this is actually pretty clear.

What's Happening, Here, mm-hmm yeah.

It seems pretty clear to me it's right after the homicides and he's saying, mom I need a gun.

Well, let's look at a clip before the homicides.

Okay.

This is a couple of weeks, almost two weeks before the homicides where he is asking Mellie, is asking somebody for a gun and he's looking for a gun before the homicides.

So you would think that, if he's looking for one before the homicides, maybe he got that gun he had that gun, but then, after the homicides he needs another gun.

So let's look at this clip where he's asking one of his friends to figure out how to get him a gun states in North Carolina.

Getting ready for for this show um, obviously he's taking on the sea in North Carolina, replacing the Big B lights and then the response from me, 5054 bang number is this: oh I, I'm about to I'm about to head to Gotti's concert at SQL.

I was just checking in on you bloody page, 17 October 14th of 2018.

Can you read that one and then explain what it's meaning? 9807 number asks.

You know someone selling a Glizzy, uh glizzies a slang term for a Glock, okay, continuing on to the next page on page 18., what is the 9807 asking at again October 14 2018.? He again asks without putting a question mark, but any gun basically saying I'll take any gun.

Okay, so Bobby.

We have text messages after the homicides asking about a Glock.

We have text messages before the homicides asking for a Glock.

We know that there were 40 caliber, at least a 40 caliber shell casing found in this homicide investigation.

We don't have the actual murder weapon, but we do have melee discussing locks guns that are similar to ones that could have been used in the homicides sure and and why would he have to ask his mother shortly after the homicide, if he already just obtained a weapon shortly before the homicide? The reason is, once you commit the homicide with that weapon, you want to get rid of it.

You don't want to keep a gun that could ballistically tie you to the murder, so you get rid of that gun.

However, carrying out a murder sometimes brings attention to you uh bad attention from other gang members, because remember this was a gang on gang.

It's the same gang internally, so there might be other people loyal to the victims that might come after you.

So you want to get rid of the gun that you committed the homicide with because of ballistics, and then you want to get another gun to protect yourself from anybody or any friends of the victims that might come back after you.

So all of this is like the prosecution just walking the jury through the story in the defendant's own words.

How valuable are cell phones and text messages and investigations, because I often say that if you really want to know what's going on with somebody and in their life, don't talk to them and say: hey how's it going.

You need to look in their cell phone, the cell phone kind of tells all yeah.

It's funny.

I've been watching this case as it goes on and I'm I'm from a generation ago.

So when I was investing in I did Jamaican gangs in New York City for 10 years, and there was no cell phones.

You know you had.

We had to have bugs in their cars bugs in their stores and their storefronts in their houses.

We have to listen to their conversations um and now everything has changed.

The young people today, don't even phone call.

They don't even they're, not even comfortable talking on the phone, not because they're, afraid of getting bugged, but they've been raised on text messages.

They've been raised on social media, so everything is through these Avenues through the text and through the social media.

They don't even like to talk to each other.

They prefer a text um, which is totally opposite of me and my generation, where I would prefer to talk to somebody either face to face or on video or on the phone.

I want to hear your voice um, because so much Gets Lost in Translation on text says at least for me, and so you know the phone is all important for for this generation.

It's all important for younger people.

They live their lives on these phones.

They live their lives out through attacks and unlike a a voice conversation that's not recorded.

You know.

If I didn't have a bug up on somebody's phone, that's lost forever I mean you might have the duration of the call and the two numbers that called but you'd, never know what transpired between those two phones now with text.

It's there forever, no matter how much encryption and how much they want to delete and stuff um, and so what you're, seeing is these cell phones are the Treasure Trove of of evidence of what was happening with two people or three people are gang um internally to the gang I mean they're, all important.

You have to get up on their cell phones, you have to know what's happening and they they put it all out there.

It's all out there I mean.

Sometimes they think text to text is, is more private um, but even look at the social media.

In this case, all the information that they're putting out onto the public social media avenues that the prosecution is bringing in to this case.

They live their lives in the open like this, it's it's a much different generation than um the gangsters that I was going after in the 80s and 90s.

Let's look at this next clip Bobby and what I think is interesting about this next clip is the fact that after uh, the homicides- and you know- Mellie says he didn't do this- he says they were the victims of a drive-by, his friend Portland Henry, the driver.

Oh, this was a drive-by state says it's all a lie that they use the drive-by story as a cover-up.

He is messaging, this Fredo bangs.

He had sent him like these, a pin with his location to come pick him up and Fredo bangs.

Then uh responds to him.

So they have this conversation about coming to get him after the homicides were committed really just after so, let's take a look page 20.

3220, Southwest, 192nd, Avenue, Miramar, Florida, 33029 I'm on my way, right now, buddy I'm, going out to the 9807 messages on October, 26, 2018., 446, 11 and 446.19.

What did the 9807 number say at that point on this one? Yes, all right: bro ain't, nobody picking up son shit, crazy AF as fuck right now blood, what the fuck and, in response to that, what does the number identified as bang 50 54 say? Ing, responds I'm on my way, but I got you okay and in terms of the locations or anything like that, you did not analyze any of that data going on to October 27th of 2018 3 22 A.M.

What does that say? You good blood and that's coming from which individual prayer then? Okay, the again the 9807 phone number at this point says on October, 27, 2018, 3, 25 a.m, a response, hell yeah, appreciate everything: bud, I, love you, okay, so Fredo bangs is the one that came and picked Mellie up after the homicides.

What I find interesting about this is that you know Fredo bangs.

He gives this address of Miramar to come pick him up, or you know he obviously got the pin or whatever and Mellie had sent him a couple of pins, but they, you know the state's saying these.

These homicides didn't occur on Miramar.

This homicides occurred.

You know in this other location and that Mellie had sent two pins so there's, obviously this whole back and forth about like hey blood, you, you know, I got you blood this that and the other, so they're they're, talking like in this language, I'm, assuming that the prosecution and Danny Polo, this state's expert are saying hey.

You know these are gang members talking to each other.

So what what do you make of this series of text messages and why the state may be showing these Bobby? Well, because you had four people in that car allegedly and three only showed up at the at the emergency room right, the one guy who runs into the emergency room.

We saw that on video and and the two It ultimately deceased people are in in the car out right outside and and the defendant is not there, and so you know you piece it together again, it's telling the story: where's the defendant.

Well, the defendant told me here he got out of that car somehow at some point after the homicide, and he had somebody else pick him up.

That's why he's not at the emergency room? That's why there's only three people out of the four that the government alleges was in that car when the shooting happened and, of course they have evidence that some of the shots may have come from inside the car, and why was the driver who ran into the emergency room totally unscathed and the other two were all shot up and somehow he escaped without any injury without a scratch on him and when he's in a car, with his hair of bullets, supposedly coming at them from the outside, from this alleged drive-by and killing the other two people in the car, but he's in that same car, totally unscathed.

So I mean it's telling the story, and this particular exchange explains why Mellie the the defendant is the fourth person that car is not in the car I think when they get to the emergency room and the two people uh, the two victims die at the hospital um and why they're only three people you know here: here's where he is they're explaining to the jury he got out of that car and he made a phone call to have someone come and pick him up and if you're the victim, if you're you know the victim of a drive-by and your two best friends from childhood, you've just witnessed them one sitting.

Next to you, one sitting up front uh from you, you're literally witnessing them be murdered right in a drive-by first of all, Bobby.

How How likely is it that two people in a car during a drive-by can escape unscathed? Portland Henry shows up at the uh emergency room, not a drop of blood on him, not a scratch on him.

So how How likely is that? Because I would think, even if the bullets are coming in that side of the car, you're still gonna a have blood all over you and B.

It doesn't matter if there's two other people in the car they may get hit, but you're still probably going to get hit.

Of course, and and then you saw the pictures of that car with all those bullet holes, not only in the side of the car, what you don't see because the windows are shot out is there were bullets flying through those windows as well, because the glass would go everywhere in glass traveling at that high rate of speed is going to impact you and cut you up, and so you'll you'd have broken glass all over you embedded in your face, at least because remember our faces are up high, all right.

The glass is flying at that level.

It's impossible to think that all of those bullets and all all of that flying glass would leave you totally unscathed.

If you're in that same vehicle.

As these two victims, I mean they were shot up really well a lot of bullets, a lot of glass.

A lot of blood um and he comes out of that car without a scratch on him without an outside on him um.

You know he didn't try to help.

You know a lot of times when you try to save somebody when they shut up the blood oxygen transfers to you.

You'd have that blood on you as well, um and and then that, combined with the fact that the state is alleging that they have evidence that some of the bullets were shot from inside the car Hastings might have been found in the car um.

So so yeah, it's it's really um.

It's a real tough sell.

Um, especially you know, the police did photograph the the other co-defendant in this case, not on trial here um but the other co-defendant.

You know they photographed them pretty extensively at the emergency room and you can see he doesn't have a scratch on him.

Yeah and I.

Think I think that would be unhighly unlikely I mean if your friends are getting shot up in a car.

Next to you and you're driving the car, you're still gonna have say you don't get hit.

You're you're gonna have blood on you, I mean glasses and scratches, and everything yeah you'd have yeah scratches yeah yeah, it's impossible for me to believe anybody else was in that car.

Having looked at those photographs and come out of that car in the condition of the person, the photographs uh of the co-defendant that the police took at the hospital.

It's really it's really a hard sell for me to believe that now the defense in this case obviously says uh.

Mellie didn't do this, that he wasn't in the car that the time that this happened uh you know and they're actually casting some doubt or attempting to cast some doubt on the state's claim that he was part of the g-shine blood set.

You know that he was part of this group.

I mean a lot of this back and forth sounds like he very much was a part of it.

You know they talk about.

You know, dropping the Seas and using a b instead like crazy for crazy uh.

You know brib instead of crib things like that, so it does appear that way.

If, if we are to believe the state's expert but there's something that happens after the homicides- and this was an interesting clip- I thought where he and this guy Gino are talking about.

You know something to do that, could show uh the world I guess or to show people like who Melly is a part of.

So let's take a listen to that.

There's a message from again the genome to the 9807 phone number.

If you could read that message aloud, are you a Ruru I was thinking you should drop a few chains and give them to the Gang that'll show people who you connected with it's not mandatory, just a thought.

Okay, no response, not everybody, of course, is there a like dues or tithing, that's required as for membership in a criminal game yeah, as described in the oath and many times throughout the Bible, it's not about the individual, about their Collective.

The mirror mere fact that he wasn't even communicating with Geno and with his lineup enough um.

That was enough for them to say you're not doing enough for us and now it's a step further.

Let's you know we need to be brought to these shows and you should buy the sofa some jewelry, because that jewelry is not cheap.

Okay.

So then the next message from December 12th is says: you're in the position to be a young Don.

What is a young Don, okay race? They did reference that name as a as in their Bible as what they call their ranks.

So I think it's just like uh, like a term related to the mafia, Dawn, okay and the response from the 9807 phone number is: let's do it: okay, okay, so basically melly's on board, according to the state.

You know, and according to these texts, like he's on board with the jewelry and and the whole nine yards so uh his defense will say: oh this is all after the homicides.

You know it's Much Ado About Nothing, but your take well, it's it's actually showing that he's getting guidance on how to be behave in the gang, how to become a better gang member.

Um drop some chains.

In other words, you know bring some expensive jewelry around and pass it around to the bosses to the higher ups.

You know this will show them your loyalty to the group because, as the detective testified in their Bible and their oath, it's all about the collective.

It's all about the group, so you should come and you should drop some chains, which is you should bring some.

You know expensive, jewelry and spread it around among the bosses to let them know that you're on board and and then he goes on to say you could be a young don don in caps.

I mean you know.

We all know from the old Godfather at the Italian mafia, Don Corleone, Marlon Brandon was Don.

Corleone Don is is a is a term that the Italian mafia started as one of the kind of a boss kind of figure um, but has now made it to kind of popular culture and Don is a is something so you can be a young Don I mean you can be a young leader in this group.

If you behave this way, so he's actually being roomed, he's actually being taught how to ascend himself how to conduct himself and how to raise his profile within the gang.

That's what all that's about! You can be.

A young Don drop, some chains, you know and and so he's being kind of tutored in how to um.

You know, because he's got this rap um group going and he's got some notoriety.

He couldn't be a young Don in this group.

If he behaves as this person is guiding him along to behave, I was going to say uh using the term Dawn, that's really getting into your language there with the New York mafia type stuff.

You know because it makes me think of like John Gotti, and you know the gambino crime, family, The, Godfather, everything you're saying- and these are all you know- whether it's the mafia or so-called.

You know gangs they're all kind of the same thing uh, you know just different cultural aspects of it is what goes on.

It's all organized crime, all right.

Let's take a look at this uh next clip.

This is Melly showing gang signs.

According to the prosecution, what are we looking at here? Let's play really commonly used blood hand, signs music, both hands foreign 's, using both hands to throw up the big big bees for blood, and is this the same jacket from the previous photo? Yes, at least it appears to be there's a lot more than moving on to what is shown in this photo Mr Devin's, all right Bobby.

So what do you think of that? Well, this is another.

You know another piece to the puzzle where, like clearly he's either wanting to be in that gang or he's in the gang trying to impress people he's putting these public pictures out of him flashing very specific gang signs, right, um, very specific to this gang um, and it's not something that's taken lightly by the guy, if you're, a public figure in that world and you're on social media flashing, these signs and- and you don't have credibility in the gang and you're- not in the gang- you know- harm could come to you.

I mean the gang could come after you simply for making these types of claims publicly on your Facebook page or on your Instagram page, whatever social media, particularly if you're somebody you know like this, a burgeoning rapper, you know who has some notoriety out there in the public um, they don't want.

You uh flashing, their signs unless you're really part of them, and so there could be some kind of you know negative consequence to you doing that, so him flashing, these signs, I think, is again one of those behaviors that he's being told you know, if you want to be be one of us.

You know you use this platform, you have this growing notoriety through the music world to to uh, to uh, be proud of your membership and us, and and tell everyone about it and and stuff and I think you know this is clearly showing um.

You know this isn't just like a peace sign.

These are very specific gang signs.

You hear this expert, that's why we have you know gang intelligence, uh units that that track.

All these things, tattoos hand signs clothing.

All of this stuff means something and these in these, these gang Intelligence Officers um, really do a great job at knowing, because it's constantly changing this stuff, it gives context to a photograph that might otherwise you might not know anything about.

What's going on in the photograph, but through clothing and through these hand, signs it gives context to what's happening in these photos.

You know the defense will say that Melly was not in a gang, and you know they're gonna they're gonna assert that I mean they are asserting that and they're cross-examining, obviously Danny Polo the state's expert.

But you know the state is obviously laying out that look.

He killed his friends.

He was doing these loyalty Oaths to the Bloods, but if his friends, you know the defense is like he wouldn't kill his best friends they've been in his best friends, since they were kids.

You know this is ridiculous.

You have no motive here.

Why would he kill his friends if they are allegedly in the Bloods as well? Well, look throwing it back to my days in the Italian mafia they that it was almost always a friend of yours that was called upon to kill you.

You know you sort and the Goodfellas movie I mean it's somebody, oh, that you trust.

They always say that somebody that you trusts that's going to put the bullet in the back of your head, because that's going to be the person that's able to lure you to a spot where You're vulnerable um.

If there's a stranger coming at you, you're going to be a lot more on guard, so oftentimes in these gangs, certainly in Italian, mafia and and in some of the gangs, I worked um.

You know it was a friend that was tasked with taking you out once they decided you have to go um.

It was usually somebody close to you because that's who can lure you lower your guard and lower you to a place where you're going to be vulnerable and they're going to be able to kill you um.

So that's the argument that oh, you never kill a friend.

That's that's long been um blown out of the water and dispelled in, in both the mafia and in gangs uh.

In fact, the mafia has always said it's almost always going to be someone close to you.

That puts the bullet in the back of your head very interesting.

Well, Bobby, Chacon! Thanks! As always for your time and your expertise.

We appreciate you coming on always enjoy my time with you thanks and that's it for this edition of Law and crime, sidebar podcast.

You can listen to and download sidebar on Apple Spotify Google and wherever else you get your podcast and, of course you can always watch it on Law and crimes.

Youtube channel, I'm, Anjanette Levy, and we will see you next time.

Foreign.