Rapper Young Thug pleads guilty in YSL Records case in Atlanta

But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker rejected the motion. He sentenced the rapper to 40 years in prison, including five years in prison. Whitaker also commuted the sentence to prison time and 15 years of probation, allowing the rapper to be released from custody.

Whitaker’s leniency came with a variety of conditions, including ordering Young Thug to stay away from metro Atlanta for the next 10 years, with some rare exceptions such as medical emergencies for family members and funerals, and attending concerts warning of the dangers of gang involvement.

Young Thug told the judge he took “full responsibility” for his crimes and apologized to his family and friends.

“I’m a good guy and I have a really good heart,” he said. “I find myself in a lot of things because I was just nice or cool and I know once you reach a certain height you can’t be like that because it could end badly.”

“I hope you’ll let me go home and do the right thing,” he told the judge.

Whitaker responded with a mild sentence, but also strongly admonished Young Thug, urging him to use his music to set a better example for his fans, including children.

“I know you’re talented and if you choose to continue rapping, you should try to use your influence to show kids that…there are ways to get out of poverty besides hanging out with the powerful man down the street selling drugs,” the judge said.

The rapper’s surprise plea brought an abrupt end to a dramatic trial watched daily in many locations in Atlanta and beyond, where thousands of viewers streamed the proceedings online and celebrity guests were in the courtroom. And true to form, Young Thug’s decision to plead guilty was preceded by a moment of hesitation as to whether he would move forward with the plea.

Calling for order in the case, Whitaker announced that plea negotiations between Young Thug and prosecutors had reached an “impasse” and that he had been informed that the rapper wanted to enter an “unnegotiated plea,” meaning the judge would determine his sentence.

Young Thug, sitting at a defense table surrounded by his attorneys and watched by family members in the courtroom, looked down and said nothing in response to Whitaker’s inquiry; This caused his lawyers to ask for a break. After about 20 minutes, the rapper stated that he wanted to continue.

This development comes more than a week after prosecutors halted Whitaker’s testimony in the case after he failed to redact testimony in an exhibit, leading a prosecution witness to inadvertently reveal to the jury that at least one of five alleged associates on trial with Young Thug was on trial. He was imprisoned. This error on October 23 led to numerous defense requests to overturn the trial.

But Whitaker said he would not declare a biased trial wrong. If he had done this, the current trial would have ended and the case would not have been retried. He criticized prosecutors for their “carelessness” but has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he disagrees with defense attorneys who have argued prosecutors deliberately made mistakes to force a mistrial to retry their cases in front of another jury.

When some defense attorneys indicated that they would accept a trial without prejudice, allowing their clients a retrial, Whitaker adjourned and then abruptly adjourned for the day.

That led to days of behind-the-scenes plea negotiations between defense teams and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (a Democrat), whose office is prosecuting the high-stakes case against the rapper, and several alleged associates. Members of a murderous street gang in Atlanta known as Young Slime Life, or YSL.

Earlier this week, three of the six defendants on trial reached agreements and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Rico law in exchange for reduced charges. It was a partial victory for Willis, a veteran prosecutor who has faced criticism for his adoption of the state’s Rico law to pursue wide-ranging, multi-defendant cases.

But the rapper’s defense has come at some political cost to Willis on the eve of an election in which he is seeking a second term as Fulton County attorney. He faced intense criticism, including from his supporters, for his decision to use Young Thug’s lyrics against him while trying to prove his role in gang activities.

At the same time, repeated prosecutorial missteps at trial cast an equally negative spotlight on the district attorney’s office and provided fodder for Willis’ re-election bid. Courtney Kramer, a Republican lawyer and former intern running against Willis in the Trump White House, made headlines last month by promising to end the Young Thug trial and drop charges against the rapper and other defendants if elected.

The legal turmoil in the Young Thug case took place against the backdrop of drama in Willis’ other high-profile case. He made accusations against the former US President in August 2023. Donald Trump and more than a dozen associates alleged criminal conspiracy to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia.

But that case is now largely frozen as Trump and others appeal the judge’s decision to allow Willis to continue prosecuting the case amid complaints that he had an inappropriate romantic relationship with the former lead prosecutor he appointed to the case. The Georgia Court of Appeals will hear arguments on the issue in December.

Although Willis’ reelection was overwhelmingly supported, he faced lingering questions about his leadership and judgment in the wake of the controversy that shook up the election interference lawsuit against Trump and his allies.

The Young Thug case was seen as a test of how a case against Trump and other defendants would unfold, with the celebrity defendant and a roster of aggressive Atlanta criminal defense attorneys working together.

Critics of Willis have cited his use of Georgia’s broad racketeering law to pursue such far-reaching cases, describing them as a waste of taxpayer money.

The Young Thug case was the longest-running criminal case in Georgia history. The rapper’s guilty plea comes nearly two years after jury selection began and almost a year later. after the opening of depositions in the case.

The dramatic developments come three months after Whitaker took over the trial after Judge Ural Glanville, who presided over the case for more than two years, was formally dismissed in July over defense complaints about a meeting he and prosecutors had with a key witness.

The controversy led to a nearly two-month lull in deposition and defense requests for a mistrial, arguing that the trial was legally compromised by Glanville’s handling of the case and allegations of misconduct by prosecutors.

Whitaker rejected those demands and another that called for the removal of top prosecutors involved in the case. He continued the trial on August 12 but warned prosecutors about his behavior.

The judge ordered the entire prosecution team to undergo new training on the “Brady rules,” which require disclosure of material potentially useful to the defense, and the “professional obligations” of being a prosecutor.

Whitaker, a former Fulton County prosecutor, has signaled that he plans to run a more organized courtroom and move trials more quickly than his predecessor. But Whitaker’s patience was quickly tested by ongoing clashes with attorneys over the release of evidence and other issues.

On Sept. 30, Whitaker admonished lead prosecutor Adriane Love, questioning whether she intentionally misled the court by misrepresenting how she planned to use evidence that defense attorneys objected to.

Whitaker said angrily: “It’s surprising to me that someone with so many years of experience you have would continue to repeatedly, seemingly deliberately, hide the ball for as long as possible.” Love.

“And I don’t really want to believe it’s purposeful, but honestly, after a certain number of times you start to wonder how it could be anything else, unless you’re that organized, just throwing it around.” as we try this case together.

Even as his client entered a plea in the case, Young Thug’s attorney Brian Steel spent more than half an hour attacking prosecutors on Friday. He accused them of making false statements and withholding evidence, violating rules mandating the disclosure of evidence to defendants.

Steel stated that his client has been in prison since May 2022 and said, “They accused Mr. Williams unfairly.” “It’s very wrong to make this case against someone with whom he has no ties and to hold him hostage… The last year has been full of lies.” and (prosecutors) know it.”

Young Thug and 27 of his friends were indicted in May 2022 as part of a sweeping grand jury indictment that alleged the rapper and his co-defendants were members of an Atlanta street gang responsible for a more than decade-old outbreak of violence across the city. .

In the initial 56-count indictment, Young Thug was charged with just two crimes: Criminal street gang activity and conspiracy to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law as the alleged leader of YSL. In August 2022, he was indicted on six additional drug and weapons charges, including illegal possession of a machine gun.

The rapper was on trial along with five others after the majority of the defendants took plea deals or had their cases dismissed. But even with a simplified list of defendants, the trial progressed very slowly, with jury selection taking 10 months, weeks-long breaks in testimony and other delays.

Despite Whitaker’s demands to “fix” the case, prosecutors are only halfway there through a list of more than 200 witnesses when the trial was suddenly stopped. Two of Young Thug’s co-defendants have so far rejected plea offers. It was not immediately clear how the case would proceed for them.

Prosecutors were visibly stunned as Whitaker signed off on the prison sentence for Young Thug, although Love acknowledged that the state had offered the rapper a similar deal but one that required Steel to admit he was the gang leader his client said he was. He refused to do it.

The judge repeatedly warned Young Thug not to associate with gang members and other defendants in the case; but granted an exception allowing Young Thug to communicate with Sergio Kitchens, also known as rapper Gunna. Young Thug’s protégé was also charged in the case but was released after Alford entered his plea.

Whitaker has repeatedly warned Young Thug to be on good behavior.

“It would be better if there is no violation, but if there is a violation, you will come to see me,” he said.