YNW Bortlen Released on House Arrest Following Bond Hearing, Victim's Family Responds

YNW Melly’s co-defendant, YNW Bortlen, has been released from jail and ordered to serve house arrest after having his bond revoked.

When news of Bortlen’s release became public, the family of one of the victims, YNW Juvy (Christopher Thomas, Jr.), released a statement expressing their disappointment with the decision.

“Our family desperately awaits justice in the criminal and civil courts. These unprecedented times leave us with no control, but we expect the trials of Jamell Demons and Cortlen Henry to occur in the near future. We do appreciate the State of Florida’s efforts to get answers and justice,” a statement released through the family’s lawyer, John M. Phillips, reads after outlining some of the offenses that led to Bortlen’s bail being revoked,” they said in a statement.

“Please continue to pray for our family,” they added. These last couple years have been really difficult,” the statement continues. “Matters are worsened by the constant posts and promotions by the defendants as if this never happened and as if they aren’t involved. Evidence shows otherwise. We await justice.”

YNW Bortlen was re-arrested in April for violating the terms of his pretrial release. A pre-trial specialist claimed that Bortlen did “not properly conduct himself.” He visited several private residences that were not permitted by the court and was even tracked to several strip clubs.

Instead of reprimanding him to jail until the trial, Broward County officials placed Borlen on Level 1 house arrest, which is the strictest electronic monitoring/house arrest program offered by the state.

The Florida rapper was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of accessory in 2019 for allegedly killing Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams.