YNW Bortlen, the Florida rapper who was arrested, in 2019, and accused of collaborating within the killings of two members of his YNW crew, has agreed to take a plea deal. Bortlen pleaded no contest to 1 depend of tampering with a witness, two counts of being an adjunct to a capital felony, and one depend of illegal use of a two-way communication machine.
In alternate for his plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a number of prices towards YNW Bortlen: two counts of first-degree homicide, one depend of witness tampering, and directing the actions of a felony gang.
YNW Bortlen, whose authorized identify is Cortlen Malik Henry, was sentenced to 10 years in jail, which will probably be adopted by six years of probation. He will probably be given credit score for time served. A spokesperson for the Broward County state lawyer’s workplace additionally advised Pitchfork that Bortlen should give a sworn assertion to prosecutors that can clarify his position within the alleged acts.
“It’s necessary to notice that Cortlen pled no contest immediately, so he has not admitted something,” Joseph E. “Joe” Nascimento, an lawyer for YNW Bortlen, advised Pitchfork. “There is no such thing as a requirement or expectation that he cooperate with the prosecution towards his co-defendant within the case, nor do I anticipate that he will probably be known as as a witness by both facet, so his plea shouldn’t be construed as an admission of any form, nor can or not it’s used towards him or anyone else. Trial was set to start tomorrow, and he was going through a number of counts of obligatory life sentences if discovered responsible, so this plea was in his finest curiosity to mitigate any publicity, and in order that’s why he determined to maneuver ahead immediately.”
YNW Bortlen was arrested in 2019 alongside fellow Florida rapper YNW Melly and charged with first-degree homicide in reference to the deaths of Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams. Bortlen, who was 20 on the time of his arrest, was released on bond in 2020, however he was returned to custody after being charged with witness tampering in October 2023.
YNW Melly’s trial began in June 2023. It ended a month later in a mistrial, however it’s nonetheless within the technique of being retried, with the case scheduled to restart in January 2027.
