A man on trial for murder in Syracuse, N.Y. reportedly blames his suspicious Google search on an interest in the YNW Melly double-homicide case.

YNW Melly Name-Drop in New York Murder Trial

On Wednesday (Oct. 9), Syracuse.com reported on the ongoing high-profile murder case where Jauquell Flagg, 32, is accused of being one of four individuals who opened fire on people from inside a stolen Chevrolet Malibu on May 29, 2023. The shooting resulted in the death of Desmond Jones, 44, and injuries to three others.

During opening statements, prosecutor Rob Moran laid out the State’s case against Flagg, which included a detailed timeline of Flagg’s movement. Moran also brought up a suspicious Google search found on Flagg’s phone where he looked up the criteria a jury needs to prove a murder conviction less than 24 hours after the murder and later erased the search history.

Flagg’s defense attorney, Shaun Chase, explained away the phone evidence by telling the jury Flagg is a big fan of YNW Melly and was just keeping up with the Florida rapper’s double-murder case. Chase did not address why the search history was deleted.

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YNW Melly Retrial Suffers Delay After Delay

After his first trial ended in a hung jury in July of 2023, YNW Melly is set to be retried for the 2018 murders of his friends Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams. The stakes are higher this time as Melly has been additionally charged with witness tampering. After initially being set to start on Oct. 9, 2023, myriad motions on both sides have delayed the case again and again. The latest date given for the trial to begin is Sept. 10, 2025.

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