Prosecutor removed from the YNW Melly murder case days before retrial. What happened?

The lead prosecutor in YNW Melly’s double murder case has been ousted from the retrial.

Broward Circuit Court Judge John Murphy on Thursday ordered the removal of prosecutor Kristine Bradley from the rapper’s upcoming trial, which should start with jury selection in late October. While Murphy didn’t find that Bradley’s “integrity and veracity” as a prosecutor have been compromised, he said in a court filing that he granted the defense’s motion to recuse her in an abundance of caution.

“Even if it is unnecessary to disqualify the entire State Attorney’s Office, courts must disqualify individual prosecutors when a defendant has been irreparably harmed and has suffered actual prejudice,” Murphy said in court filings.

Murphy’s decision, which came after hearing arguments from both the state and defense, was linked to allegations of wrongdoing by Miramar Police Detective Mark Moretti in an October 2022 incident.

READ MORE: YNW Melly’s retrial pushed back after heated hearing. Here’s what happened

Defense attorneys have voiced that they intended to call Bradley to the stand to cast doubt on the testimony of Moretti, who is a key witness in the case. In his decision, Murphy argued that a prosecutor testifying raises concerns over their credibility before a jury.

Substantial misconduct, Murphy said in the filing, can also warrant the disqualification of a prosecutor. He cited the apparent internal conflict in the State Attorney’s Office, changing statements about what Moretti said — or didn’t say — and Bradley’s “personal animus” toward Michelle Boutros, a Broward prosecutor of 20 years assigned to the Public Corruption Unit who testified about Moretti’s misconduct.

“Even though it is far from conclusive, the Court is sufficiently concerned about whether Ms. Bradley has departed from her role as a zealous advocate for the State and is now personally invested in the credibility determinations of Detective Moretti and Ms. Boutros and the outcome of the trial,” Murphy said.

Melly, 24, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of gunning down his childhood friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. in a drive-by cover-up after spending the night of Oct. 26, 2018, at a Fort Lauderdale recording studio. Williams and Thomas, both aspiring rappers with the YNW collective, were known as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy, respectively.

Melly is among the first defendants to go to trial after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law to lower the threshold for a death sentence to an 8-4 jury vote, from the previous requirement for a unanimous vote.

What was the incident with Moretti?

In 2022, Boutros was contacted by Bradley for a possible tampering investigation into Jamie King, Melly’s mother. That’s why she was present when Moretti questioned King, who was accused of tampering with two witnesses: Mariah Hamilton, Melly’s ex-girlfriend, and Felicia Holmes, Hamilton’s mother.

At the time of the incident, Moretti was taking a statement from King in a conference room on the seventh floor of the Broward courthouse. Prosecutor Boutros, King’s attorney Robert Trachman and Broward Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jason Hendrick were present 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 while testifying last week.

But Gorel didn’t say anything “of substance” after Moretti’s comment, Boutros noted 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.

According to a filing by Chris Killoran, Boutros’ superior in the Public Corruption Unit, Moretti told Bradley that the statement he made to Gorel — and Gorel’s response — were merely jokes. In a later filing, Bradley said she inaccurately relayed the incident, and that Gorel was the one who made the joke.

Melly’s defense team in August learned that Moretti was ”under investigation” for allegedly using force against a possible witness in the case, which stemmed from a complaint King made in July. Defense lawyers accused Bradley of a Brady violation, or concealing information favorable to the defense, for allegedly not divulging details about the incident involving Moretti.

Under Florida law, prosecutors are required to disclose any information that may be favorable to the defense. The discovery of Brady violations, in some cases, have even led to overturned convictions.

How about other rulings?

While the defense got a big win on Thursday, Murphy also denied two of their other motions. He barred them from questioning top officials at the Broward State Attorney’s Office, including State Attorney Harold Pryor, citing that the defense failed to prove that the administration “engaged in a cover-up of Detective Moretti’s statement to Deputy Gorel... or any other misconduct.”

Defense attorneys previously asked Murphy to dismiss the entire Broward State Attorney’s Office from the case. He rejected their request, writing that there was no clear violation of law or ethics by the administration.

“All evidence presented points to the conclusion that Ms. Bradley was solely responsible for the decision not to timely disclose Detective Moretti’s statement to Deputy Gorel,” Murphy said in his filing.

Melly will appear in court Friday for a hearing about the defense’s motion to dismiss the case.