YNW Melly tested positive for coronavirus while being locked up in Broward County Florida, and plans to file a motion for “restricted release” as he awaits trial for double murder, the rapper’s team announced on his Instagram account on Thursday (April 2).
“Melly has tested positive for COVID-19 today while awaiting his trial in Broward County Jail. He’ll be filing a motion for restricted release in hopes of better care due to any jails not being prepared to treat this new virus,” reads the post, which also ask for fans to send Melly “positive energy.”
The 20-year-old rapper, born Jamell Demons, stands accused of murdering two of his friends, 21-year-old Anthony Williams, and 19-year-old Chistopher Thomas Jr., in 2018. Melly pleaded not guilty to the double-murder charges and is also suspected of fatally shooting an off-duty sheriff’s deputy in 2017.
His coronavirus announcement comes as activists continue to call for the release of nonviolent offenders amid the global pandemic.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday that two inmates tested positive for the viral disease. One of the inmates was arrested last month and was screened upon being housed at BSO’s North Bureau, but showed no symptoms. A second inmate was sent to a hospital on Tuesday (March 31) for an unrelated issue and was tested for COVID-19. The results came back positive the following day. “The housing units where he has been were placed in quarantine as a precaution,” the BSO said in a statement.
The state of Florida has so far confirmed 9,000 coronavirus cases and 141 deaths. Many of the cases have been concentrated in Miami-Dade County, which has 2,886 cases and 20 deaths, followed by Broward County with at least 1,481 confirmed cases and 17 deaths.