Bradford Cohen, YNW Melly’s former attorney, discussed the rapper’s ongoing murder trial during a live Q&A with Law & Crime.
A viewer asked Cohen why he stopped representing YNW Melly. The lawyer explained why the rapper, whose real name is Jamell Demons, opted to hire different attorneys to handle the murder case.
“I was originally on the case with an individual whose name is Jason Williams, who’s an excellent attorney from New Orleans,” Cohen said. “And he represented another rapper named Boosie in a murder case, which he walked him on. He ended up becoming the state attorney for New Orleans, and Mr. Demons wanted to move in a different direction. He wanted to hire other attorneys, and I was OK with that.”
According to Cohen, YNW Melly asked the lawyer to return to the case months ago. Cohen turned down the offer, but it wasn’t because he feared it was a losing battle.
“I always look out for the best interest of the client,” Cohen said. “And I treat it just like a doctor-patient relationship. If you guys aren’t—if you don’t get the same vibe or you’re not vibing together, I have no hard feelings whatsoever. I was called six or seven months ago to come back on the case. But I’m not a fan of jumping off and jumping back onto cases … I didn’t get back on the team but that doesn’t mean I don’t think the case is good. I think the case is a great case.”
YNW Melly’s double murder trial began on June 12. Prosecutors accuse him of killing YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser in 2018.
Earlier this year week, a judge denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial. YNW Melly’s trial was in recess on Friday (June 23). It’s scheduled to resume on Monday (June 26).