Fredo Bang received a notice for a videotaped deposition in a lawsuit filed by the family of YNW Juvy, one of YNW Melly’s alleged murder victims. According to court documents obtained by Bryson Paul, Fredo Bang is scheduled to testify on September 26.
YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of killing his friends YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser in 2018. YNW Melly was arrested for first-degree murder in 2019.
The incarcerated rapper awaits a retrial after the first attempt to convict him ended in a mistrial. Florida prosecutors claimed YNW Melly reached out to Fredo Bang, whose real name is Fredrick Givens, after committing murder.
“What you’re also going to find out is that while Mr. Demons is out there on the side of the road at four in the morning, 4:42 a.m. specifically, he sends a drop pin, a digital homing beacon to his current location, to one of his friends, Fredrick Givens,” Broward County Assistant State Attorney Kristine Bradley said in the first trial.
Fredo Bang was not called as a witness in the 2023 trial. The Baton Rouge-bred rapper claimed he avoided a subpoena in the murder case on his song “Free Melly,” which appeared on the 2024 album Yes, I’m Sad.
“Free Melly it been love since the beginning/Talking ’bout subpoena, tell that lady I ain’t get it,” Fredo Bang rapped.
YNW Melly’s retrial was supposed to begin in late 2023, but it has been delayed for months. Judge John Murphy put the trial on hold indefinitely in January. Last month, Judge Martin Fein tentatively scheduled a September 10 start date for the retrial.
If convicted, YNW Melly faces the death penalty. He maintains his innocence.
YNW Melly’s co-defendant YNW Bortlen will be tried separately. Prosecutors say YNW Bortlen helped cover up the murders.
