Detective in YNW Melly case has been accused of wrongdoing. Will he get questioned again?
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The double murder trial of rapper YNW Melly
The double murder trial of rapper YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, has had many twists and turns since the South Florida artist was accused of killing his childhood best friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. in 2019.
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The lead detective is once again at the center of rapper YNW Melly’s double murder case as jury selection continues.
Melly’s legal team urged Broward Circuit Court Judge John Murphy to allow Miramar Police Detective Mark Moretti to sit through another deposition, or a sworn interview with a witness. Under Florida law, witnesses can’t be deposed more than once unless the state and defense agree — or a judge rules to allow the second interview.
Murphy will rule on the request at a hearing on Thursday morning.
In the filing, defense attorney Raven Liberty argued that there are “serious discrepancies” between Moretti’s testimony and the evidence provided by former prosecutor Kristine Bradley, who was ousted from the retrial days ago.
“The Defendant has not only good cause for this request, but the re-deposition of the detective is necessary for the preparation of the Defendant’s defense and pre-trial motions,” Liberty said in the filing Sunday.
Liberty also referenced the allegation that Moretti “solicited” a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy to lie in a October 2022 incident. Public Corruptions Unit Prosecutor Michelle Boutros, who previously testified about the incident, was present when Moretti was taking a statement from Jamie King, Melly’s mother, in a conference room on the seventh floor of the Broward courthouse. King’s attorney Robert Trachman and Broward Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jason Hendrick were also there at the time.
READ MORE: Prosecutor accused detective in YNW Melly case of lying. She’s now a defense witness
At some point, Hendrick stepped out, and Moretti executed a search warrant for King’s phone. Shortly after, BSO Deputy Adam Gorel arrived at the conference room. When King and Trachman left, Moretti told Gorel that he should say he was present when he executed the search warrant, Boutros said on the stand.
Accounts of what Moretti said — or didn’t say — differ among the parties in the case. According to a filing by Bradley, Moretti asked Gorel whether he was there when the phone was taken, and Gorel said something along the lines of: “I can be if you needed me to be.” Boutros, on the stand, declared that Gorel didn’t say that.
Prosecutor Justin Griffis, who is new to the case alongside lead prosecutor Alixandra Buckelew, slammed the defense’s request as “legally insufficient” and argued that Moretti’s cell tower location data and mapping evidence was “available and had been disclosed prior to his first deposition.”
The discrepancies defense attorneys alluded to were vague, Griffis noted in the filing, also hinting that the motivation behind the deposition is to “potentially impeach” Moretti. The detective, he said, isn’t under investigation by any agency for alleged misconduct.
In a September memo, Internal Affairs Sgt. Brittany Parker closed a complaint made by King against Moretti, also writing that Boutros’ claims about the detective contradicted Gorel’s sworn statement.
READ MORE: Prosecutor accused detective in YNW Melly case of lying. Police say that didn’t occur
“Any testimony in regards to any alleged attempt to solicit perjury is not relevant to the case at hand,” Griffis said in the filing. “General acts of misconduct are inadmissible as impeachment evidence.”
What else is happening in the case?
While the South Florida rapper’s case is still in jury selection, the judge has yet to rule on dozens of pending motions, the bulk of which were drafted by the defense.
On top of that, Buckelew on Tuesday asked Murphy to allow the state to question and dismiss prospective jurors with “significant” knowledge of the previous trial.
“...[The outstanding motions] could affect the type of evidence permitted at trial,” Buckelew said in the filing. “Due to the unknown, having any jurors with significant knowledge on the case should be avoided at all costs.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 3:09 PM.
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