Broward Circuit Judge John J. Murphy is expected to decide soon whether top level prosecutors, including elected State Attorney Harold Pryor, can be compelled to testify about the office’s handling of an explosive allegation in the murder case against Jamell “YNW Melly” Demons.

Defense lawyers are asking Murphy to dismiss the charges against Demons, or at least yank the Broward State Attorney’s Office from the case, over allegations of a cover-up involving the lead detective on the case. Prosecutor Michelle Boutros claimed in a sworn statement and in testimony that Detective Mark Moretti expressed a willingness to lie about how he executed a search warrant on Jamie King, Demons’ mother, last October.

Boutros’ account was known to top prosecutors within days of the incident, but no one told defense lawyers in Demons’ murder case for nearly 10 months, after King filed an excessive force complaint that brought Boutros’ allegation back to the surface. Moretti’s official report did not contain any discredited statement, and the comment raised by Boutros was later characterized as a joke. But defense lawyers Daniel Aaronson and Jamie Benjamin said the defense team could have used the allegation to discredit Moretti when he testified at Demons’ first trial, which ended with a hung jury.

Prosecutors are required to turn over evidence that could call the testimony of prosecution witnesses into question, including testimony from law enforcement officers, a requirement known as “Brady notification.”

Aaronson and Benjamin want Pryor and two high-ranking members of his office to testify about what they did after Boutros came forward and why they never told Demons’ lawyers about the allegations against his chief accuser. Assistant State Attorney Steven Klinger argued that the allegation would not have required a Brady notification. If the judge agrees, there would be no legal basis to force Pryor to the stand.

Prosecutors filed a motion to quash the defense subpoenas for their testimony. If Murphy requires them to testify, they’ll be called to the stand on Friday as part of the defense bid to remove them from the case or dismiss it entirely.

Demons and his friend, Cortlen Henry, are being tried separately for the murders of fellow rappers Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas. Prosecutors say Henry was the driver of the Jeep in which the murders took place in October 2018, and Demons was the gunman.

Henry and Demons then staged the crime scene to make it look like a drive-by shooting had taken place, according to investigators.

Prosecutors have evidence that Demons was in the vehicle with the others after a late-night recording session in Fort Lauderdale, but the murders took place in Miramar nearly an hour later. Cell company records show Demons’ phone never left the area of the Jeep, but defense lawyers argued that Demons was not there when the victims were shot.

His retrial was scheduled to begin this week but has been postponed until the Brady controversy is resolved.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at or 954-356-4457.