An undercover cop was made to remove a ski mask he was using to obscure his identity after complaints from the prosecution and jurors in the double murder trial of rapper YNW Melly.
The trial of YNW Melly - real name Jamell Maurice Demons - has been taking place in Florida for more than two weeks now, as the 24-year-old stands accused of killing two other rappers, YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy in October 2018.
He is accused of conspiring with a third fellow rapper, Cortlen Malik Henry - also known as YNW Bortlen - to murder Anthony D'Andre Williams (Sakchaser) and Christopher Thomas Jr. (Juvy) before attempting to pass it off as a drive-by shooting.
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Demons later turned himself into the police in 2019, vowing to clear his name.
Now, the court is hearing testimony from Detective Danny Polo, who is being brought as an expert witness into organised gang crime.
Last Thursday (22 June), Judge John Murphy allowed Polo to wear a mask while giving evidence due to his undercover work and in order to protect his family.
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However, there have been concerns raise by jurors, one of which who wrote a note to the judge that said: “Why does he get to see us but we don’t get to see him?”
That was read by defense attorney David A. Howard, before the judge read a second note that said: “I need a moment,
“I can’t listen properly.
“When I was a child, I seen someone get robbed and I am having an anxiety attack.”
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After an argument between the two counsels, Judge Murphy was minded to tell Polo that he could no longer wear the mask after the lawyers acting for YNW Melly found new information.
The defense had argued that the mask is distracting and unnecessary, but it was the discovery of online information that led to the Broward County police officer being unmasked.
They discovered the CashApp profile of Polo’s wife and showed it to the detective in court yesterday (26 June), when he admitted that the picture showed his family.
In the end, Judge Murphy sided with Melly’s defense and made Polo take off the ski mask in order to keep testifying.
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The trial began on 12 June, and the rapper has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first degree murder.
Despite a previous ruling, which has since been overturned, if he is found guilty Melly could receive the death penalty.
Murphy has also denied a motion for a mistrial from the defense.
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Melly is best known for his songs ‘Murder on my Mind’, as well as ‘Mixed Personalities’ featuring Kanye West and ‘Suicidal’ featuring Juice Wrld.
The trial continues.
Tom Wood