YNW Melly’s Associate YNW Bortlen Arrested, Accused of Witness Tampering

YNW Bortlen, an associate of YNW Melly who is also facing trial for two counts of first-degree murder, was arrested in Miami-Dade County on Monday. Police arrested Bortlen on a warrant accusing him of witness tampering, TMZ and the Sun Sentinel report.

Bortlen, whose real name is Cortlen Malik Henry, was released on bond in 2020. One of the conditions of his release was not to contact witnesses. According to the Sun Sentinel, the warrant cited an accusation from the mother of a witness in the case of both Melly and Bortlen. “Henry had stated to [Melly’s girlfriend], if she was more loyal, she would be driving a pink BMW,” the warrant states, adding it was made “clear that if [she] does not cooperate with the criminal case, she would have been rewarded.”

Melly and Bortlen are accused of shooting and killing Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. in 2018. Melly went on trial this year, but when the jury could not come to a unanimous decision in the case, the judge declared a mistrial on July 22 after three days of deliberation. Melly’s retrial is set to begin this month, while Bortlen’s trial is scheduled to begin in January. If convicted, YNW Melly could face a death sentence.

Pitchfork has reached out to Bortlen’s lawyer and the Miami-Dade Police Department for comment.