Court was back in session for the Young Thug/YSL trial in Fulton County, Georgia on Tuesday, following an explosive day on Monday.
Brian Steel, the lead attorney for Jeffery Williams, known as Young Thug, was held in contempt of court and ordered to be held in the Fulton County Jail for no more than 20 days.
He will spend every weekend in jail for the next 10 weekends.
Steel was held in contempt after he refused to tell Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville who informed him about an ex parte conversation between the district attorney’s office and witness Kenneth Copeland in the judge’s chambers.
After Steel learned about the conversation, he made a motion for a mistrial. Judge Glanville repeatedly demanded to know how he found out, but Steel refused to reveal his source.
Several other attorneys also moved for a mistrial, but Glanville denied all motions.
The day began with Kenneth “Lil Woody” Copeland’s testimony.
Copeland was arrested for contempt of court on Friday when he invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify.
When he returned to the stand on Monday, he still appeared reluctant to answer questions and often provided vague answers. He also claimed vision problems when asked to identify Shannon Stillwell in court and complained about being hot.
What are the charges Young Thug faces?
A Fulton County grand jury indicted Young Thug in May 2022, and more charges were added in a subsequent indictment in August of that year. The second indictment accused Young Thug and 27 other people of conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.
The rapper was also accused of participation in criminal street gang activity, as well as drug and gun charges.
Prosecutors said Young Thug and two other people co-founded a violent criminal street gang in 2012 called Young Slime Life, or YSL, which they said is associated with the national Bloods gang. The indictment said Young Thug “made YSL a well-known name by referring to it in his songs and on social media.”
In addition to specific charges, the August indictment included a wide-ranging list of 191 acts that prosecutors say were committed between 2013 and 2022 as part of the alleged conspiracy to further the gang’s interests.
Included in that list was an allegation that Young Thug threatened in July 2015 to shoot a security guard who was trying to get him to leave an Atlanta-area mall. The indictment also says Young Thug rented a silver Infiniti sedan that was used in the killing of a rival gang member named Donovan “Nut” Thomas. And, on numerous occasions, he and others are alleged to have possessed various illegal drugs that they intended to distribute.
Who is on trial with Young Thug?
The other defendants still facing trial include Marquavius Huey, Deamonte Kendrick (known as Yak Gotti), Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan and Shannon Stillwell.
The other defendants who have already pleaded guilty to various charges prior to jury selection include Gunna, whose given name is Sergio Kitchens; Young Thug’s older brother, Quantavious Grier (Unfoonk); Trontavious Stephens (Tick); and Antonio Sledge (Mounk Tounk).
Young Thug, a Grammy winner whose given name is Jeffery Williams, was charged two years ago in a sprawling indictment accusing him and more than two dozen other people of conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. He also is charged with gang, drug and gun crimes and is standing trial with five of the others indicted with him.
Young Thug has been wildly successful since he began rapping as a teenager and he serves as CEO of his own record label, Young Stoner Life, or YSL. Artists on his record label are considered part of the “Slime Family,” and a compilation album, “Slime Language 2,” rose to No. 1 on the charts in April 2021.
But prosecutors say YSL also stands for Young Slime Life, which they allege is an Atlanta-based violent street gang affiliated with the national Bloods gang and founded by Young Thug and two others in 2012. Prosecutors say people named in the indictment are responsible for violent crimes — including killings, shootings and carjackings — to collect money for the gang, burnish its reputation and expand its power and territory.
By Agencies
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