The second week of the YNW Melly double-murder trial concluded with a deep dive into the rapper’s text messages around the time of the 2018 murders he is being accused of carrying out. The third week of the trial kicked off with more testimony about the information found on Melly’s cell phone.

YNW Melly Double-Murder Trial Day Eight

Det. Danny Polo continued his testimony for the prosecution about YNW Melly‘s alleged gang ties. As previously reported, there has been an issue about Polo wearing a full face covering while testifying. He gave his reasoning as being an undercover agent, but Melly’s legal team pushed back again today and requested the detective remove his mask while talking to the jury. Judge John Murphy III finally agreed and ordered Polo to remove his mask for the remainder of his appearance in court.

Back to the text messages, the jury was shown messages between YNW Melly and other alleged gang members and Polo concluded from the texts that Melly was being recruited by multiple G-Shine blood gang members.

Young Thug, Juelz Santana and French Montana‘s names were brought up in court as being referenced in text messages about their alleged gang affiliations. Polo also testified he believes Trippie Redd and Fredo Bang are gang members as well.

Read More: Here’s How to Watch the YNW Melly Murder Trial 

YNW Melly’s We All Shine Album Cover

YNW Melly’s We All Shine album cover is presented as evidence. Det. Polo testified that the phrase, “U Shine, I Shine, We All Shine,” on the back of Melly’s jacket on the cover is a credo used by the G-Shine Bloods. Polo also concluded that YNW itself is not a collective gang but is made up of gang members.

Det. Danny Polo Cross-Examined

Det. Danny Polo was cross-examined by YNW Melly‘s defense attorney who tried to debunk the narrative that Melly is a gang member. Polo testified the entire day of trial. He will continue his testimony tomorrow (June 27).

The YNW Melly Double-Murder Trial

This is just the beginning of a court case that is expected to last in late July. YNW Melly is facing the possibility of a death sentence if he is found guilty of the October 2018 murders of his friends YNW Juvy (Chris Thomas, 20) and YNW Sakchaser (Anthony Williams, 21), who police say the rapper shot and killed in cold blood following a South Florida studio session.

Read More: YNW Melly Murder Trial Day Seven – What We Learned

See the Full Livestream of Day Eight of the YNW Melly Trial Below