YNW Melly Hires Lawyer From Boosie BadAzz’s Murder Trial

YNW Melly has hired Boosie BadAzz's former attorney Jason Rogers Williams to represent him along with Bradford Cohen going forward in his first-degree murder case.

"I feel very confident. We have a very strong team with Brad Cohen and Nicole Burdett and myself," Williams tells XXL of his outlook on the case. "We feel really good about it. This is a process, and we're hoping that it's a fair process and all the evidence comes out."

According to legal documents obtained by XXL, a Broward County judge signed the approval for Williams to represent the Florida rapper (born Jamell Demons) on April 3. For the unfamiliar, Williams is the Louisiana lawyer who represented Boosie during his 2011 murder trial. Boosie was acquitted of first-degree murder charges in 2012.

Williams will be joined by Nicole E. Burdett, who operates as a member of his law firm, Jason Rogers Williams and Associates.

YNW Melly has been behind bars since he was arrested and charged for the murder of his two friends, 21-year-old YNW Sakchaser (born Anthony Williams) and 19-year-old YNW Juvy (Christopher Thomas Jr.) on Feb. 13. Detectives assert that Melly was the shooter who sat in the left rear passenger seat.

The Miramar, Fla. police department also believes that Melly and his alleged accomplice YNW Bortlen (born Cortlen Henry) drove around with the bodies in the car for an extended period of time before Bortlen brought them to Memorial Miramar Hospital. Melly was denied bond and pleaded not guilty of both counts of first-degree murder last month (March 5). Bortlen pleaded not guilty to the same murder charges with two additional charges of accomplice after the fact.

Since his arrest, YNW Melly, who's been behind bars in Broward County Jail, has seen an increase in music streams. The bump in streams led to his single "Murder on My Mind" getting an RIAA-certified platinum certification last month. He's received support from rappers like Kodak Black and Lil Durk since being locked up.

On Sun., March 24, Durk spoke with Melly on the phone for a conversation that was shared on Melly's Instagram Live. Instead of talking about the Florida artist's case, Durk and his OTF artist King Von offered words of encouragement for Melly, telling him that he'd be released from jail soon.

There is not yet a start date for the trial. Read court documents for the case for yourself below.

—Additional reporting from Peter A. Berry and Kai Acevedo

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