\n<\/p>\n
The prosecution also contends that YSL is responsible for the shooting<\/a> of Lil Wayne\u2019s tourbus in 2015. (Jimmy Carlton Winfrey, an associate of Young Thug and Birdman also known as PeeWee Roscoe, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the shooting, though the conviction was overturned in 2018 because the judge had interfered with his plea negotiations. He was released in 2020 on time served. Neither Thug nor Birdman was charged.) Love said said the shooting was \u201cfor nothing, except to show [YSL\u2019s] dominance. That act was intended to show their solidarity, their willingness to act on the behalf of, their willingness to exact violence upon anyone who threatened the position of the criminal street gang calling itself Young Slime Life.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Steel gives his opening statement on behalf of Young Thug. He tells the story of his client\u2019s impoverished upbringing with 10 other children in a small, three-bedroom apartment in Atlanta: \u201cJeffery Williams was born into an environment, a community, a society that was filled with oppression, despair, hopelessness and helplessness,\u201d he says, segueing into criticism of the police and their handling of witnesses. Lil Wayne, Steel adds, was an idol to the aspiring rapper, as was Tupac, whose song \u201cP.Y.T. (Playa Young Thugs)\u201d gave Young Thug his name. In a viral moment, he contends that \u201cTHUG\u201d also stands for \u201cTruly Humble Under God<\/a>.\u201d He further claims that \u201cpushin P\u201d stands for \u201cpushing positivity,\u201d and that YSL was named after Yves Saint Laurent.<\/p>\n Steel spent most of his remarks refuting the most serious charge, that Young Thug was involved in the murder of Donovan Thomas, Jr. Steel addressed the claim that a car used in the murder was rented under Young Thug\u2019s name by explaining that the rapper often rented cars to friends in need. Steel says that, before the alleged killing, Kenneth Copeland contacted Thug for help. Answering the call, he says, was the extent of Thug\u2019s involvement.<\/p>\n Shannon Stillwell, a co-defendant of Young Thug, is stabbed in jail. He survives injuries to his back, stomach, and shoulder. Fellow inmate Willie Brown admits to the stabbing, saying he took the knife from Stillwell after entering his cell. The trial is suspended until the new year.<\/p>\n Trontavious Stephens, a member of YSL, takes the witness stand after agreeing to a plea deal with eight years of probation. He identifies himself, Young Thug, and Walter Murphy as the founding members of YSL. He admits the organization emerged from the Raised on Cleveland street gang but says it was formed as \u201ca music label\u2014music happened first.\u201d<\/p>\n The prosecution plays a 911 call by an anonymous woman, who claims to have heard of a shooting committed by Young Thug. \u201cThey came to my house and told me that the guy who shot somebody\u2019s name was Young Thug, whoever that\u2019s supposed to be,\u201d she says in the call.<\/p>\n The judge denies a request, by Young Thug\u2019s attorneys, to have lead prosecutor Adriane Love removed from the case. Brian Steel had objected to her questioning witnesses with a series of \u201cIsn\u2019t it true you told me\u201d style questions. He says the rhetoric makes her an unsworn witness, who should be subject to interrogation on the stand.<\/p>\n More allegations of impropriety by the prosecution. Jurors are shown text messages that a prosecution investigator, Rasheed Hamilton, sent to a witness identified as A. Bennett, who first took the stand in March. One message reads, \u201cHit me up if you\u2019re bored later. We\u2019re not gonna talk shop.\u201d Bennett testified that Hamilton had said he wanted to date her and called her \u201cmama\u201d on multiple occasions. No subsequent action against Hamilton was reported.<\/p>\n The trial is paused indefinitely as several defence attorneys complain that Judge Ural Glanville held improper private meetings with prosecutors and an uncooperative witness. The witness, Kenneth Copeland, aka rapper Lil Woody, had refused to testify and was held in contempt of court. The meetings took place without defence attorneys\u2019 knowledge, but when Steel learned of them and mentioned it in court, he too was held in contempt for refusing to disclose his source. He received a 20-day prison sentence that was soon reversed. Glanville subsequently released a full transcript of the meeting.<\/p>\n Judge Ural Glanville is recused. Judge Rachel Krause, who ruled on the recusal, wrote that, while the ex parte meeting was not inappropriate, the recusal was important to preserve \u201cthe public\u2019s confidence in the judicial system.\u201d A separate motion seeks to recuse Krause herself from deciding on the recusal, due to a $2,000 campaign donation she received from Glanville. Krause denies that motion.<\/p>\n Judge Ural Glanville\u2019s replacement, Judge Shukura Ingram, who had been randomly assigned to the case, is herself recused, because her former courthouse deputy had a romantic relationship with Christian Eppinger, one of Young Thug\u2019s co-defendants.<\/p>\n The trial resumes with Judge Paige Reese Whitaker in place. Copeland, a key witness, restarts his testimony but answers most questions \u201cI don\u2019t recall.\u201d<\/p>\n Court is adjourned after rapper Slimelife Shawty reads out an Instagram post with the hashtag \u201c#FreeQua\u201d\u2014which the state should have redacted from his paper copy\u2014during his testimony. Since the hashtag could bias the jury by implying that Quamarvious Nichols, one of Young Thug\u2019s co-defendants, has been in prison, Nichols\u2019 attorneys motion for a mistrial. Another defendant who goes by Qua, Marquavius Huey, also requests a mistrial. Judge Whitaker criticizes prosectors for a series of errors of which this is just the latest. \u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to do is fix your sloppiness so that everyone won\u2019t have wasted, you know, 10, 12 months of their lives in this trial,\u201d Whitaker tells prosecutors. \u201cI am sorry y\u2019all have, you know, this gigantic, ginormous universe of evidence that maybe if you narrowed down, you would not be making these kind of mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the state\u2019s blunder, Quamarvious Nichols takes a plea deal. All but one of the charges against him, including a murder charge, are dismissed, on the proviso that he accept the RICO conspiracy charge. That includes admission to his involvement in possession and distribution of drugs, but Nichols categorically denies participating in violence. Nichols will serve seven years of a 20-year sentence, adjusted for time served, with the 13-year balance served on probation. The other Qua, Marquavius Huey, also enters a plea deal. And one more defendant, Rodalius Ryan, aka Lil Rod, takes enters a plea deal and receives a 10-year sentence commuted to time served. He will now fight a separate murder charge in the Georgia Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nNovember 28, 2023<\/h2>\n
December 10, 2023<\/h2>\n
January 3, 2024<\/h2>\n
February 20, 2024<\/h2>\n
April 4, 2024<\/h2>\n
April 8, 2024<\/h2>\n
July 1, 2024<\/h2>\n
July 15, 2024<\/h2>\n
July 17, 2024<\/h2>\n
August 12, 2024<\/h2>\n
October 23, 2024<\/h2>\n
October 29, 2024<\/h2>\n