The trial of the young YSL gang thug in Atlanta

Follow updates on the case

Credit: Miguel Martínez

Credit: Miguel Martínez

May 10, 2022: The next day, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis held a news conference in which she touted the widespread gang indictment as a victory against crime. Willis called targeting gangs a top priority and said they were responsible for at least “75 to 80 percent of all the violent crime we see in our community.” She then defended her decision to use the star’s rap lyrics against him, saying: “If you decide to admit to your crimes in an instant, I’m going to use them.”

May 11, 2022: Musician Gunna, real name Sergio Kitchens, surrenders to RICO charge. His lawyers released a statement affirming his innocence. Authorities accuse Young Thug of drug and weapons possession following a search of his home during the artist’s arrest. The defendants are being held without bail.

June 14, 2022: Gunna writes a letter from the Fulton County Jail on his 29th birthday. “For the moment, I don’t have my freedom. But I am innocent,” he said. “I am falsely accused and I will never stop fighting to clear my name!”

August 5, 2022: The case is re-indicted and additional charges are added.

October 6, 2022: Nearly five months after the indictment, Fulton prosecutors asked to delay the start of the trial because eight of the 28 people charged still did not have defense attorneys. The request came days after veteran prosecutor Don Geary left the Fulton County Prosecutor’s Office for a position in Gwinnett County. Adriane Love took over as lead prosecutor in the case shortly afterward.

Credit: [email protected]

Credit: [email protected]

December 14, 2022: Gunna and another defendant accepted plea deals offered by the state and were released from prison. The musician pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to violate the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law. His sentence was commuted to time served, but he was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service. Several other defendants also accepted plea deals before jury selection began.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

December 15, 2022: During a pretrial hearing, someone burst into the court’s Zoom meeting with frontal comments. A pornographic video of a completely naked man was shown on the courtroom screens with the message “Free Young Thug.” Deputies rushed to turn off the screens as the judge insisted on maintaining decorum in the courtroom.

January 4, 2023: Hundreds of potential jurors showed up at the Fulton County Courthouse for the start of what would become the longest trial in Georgia history. The 12 trial jurors and six alternates were not seated until November. Several potential jurors got in trouble for not returning to court, including a woman who said she went to the Dominican Republic on a business trip. Another potential juror spent about five hours in custody after being caught filming court proceedings with her cellphone.

January 18, 2023: Jury selection was disrupted when one of the defendants, Kahlieff Adams, was seen approaching Young Thug and handing him what prosecutors said was a Percocet pill in open court.

April 17, 2023: Some attorneys are beginning to complain about the length of the case, saying the unusual length of the process has prevented them from helping other clients. “To be honest, I could make more money working at Chick-fil-A,” said attorney Justin Hill, who was one of the attorneys appointed by the Georgia Public Defender Council. The lawyers were initially told they would receive $15,000 regardless of the length of the trial. The GPDC later agreed to pay them more money.

April 19, 2023: Court proceedings were interrupted by loud shouting after deputies searched defendant Rodalius Ryan in the courthouse holding room and said they found two bags of marijuana sewn into his underwear.

April 20, 2023: The next day, defense attorney Anastasios Manettas was arrested at a secondary checkpoint while trying to enter the courtroom with some of his prescription medications.

June 2, 2023: Courthouse deputy Akeiba Stanley is arrested and fired after being accused of having a romantic relationship with defendant Christian Eppinger. Authorities said she “entertained an inappropriate relationship” with the defendant by visiting his prison cell and conspiring with one of his relatives to deliver contraband to him.

June 23, 2023: After more than a year behind bars, Young Thug releases a new album from prison. Titled “Business is Business,” the record featured rappers Drake, Future, 21 Savage and Travis Scott, among others. Defendant Yak Gotti, real name Deamonte Kendrick, is also on one of the leads.

October 18, 2023: Prosecutors reveal in a court filing that they spent more than a month shadowing a potential juror because they didn’t believe he lived in Fulton County. Some defense attorneys were shocked to learn that the prosecutor’s office had used taxpayer resources to surveil the juror and track his movements.

October 24, 2023: Another potential juror was handcuffed in court and held for six hours over emails he admitted sending to court staff. In one, the man called having to call a court hotline every evening for instructions “totally unrealistic.” In others, he complained about not being able to take a vacation and said his involvement in the affair contributed to his wife’s anxiety and depression. “I believe the defendants are guilty,” he wrote, emphasizing his refusal to continue serving as a juror in the case. He was ultimately excused from jury duty.

November 1, 2023: After a tedious 10-month selection process, a jury was finally selected for the sprawling gang and racketeering trial.

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

November 27, 2023: More than 18 months after Young Thug’s arrest, the trial begins in earnest with opening statements. Lead prosecutor Adriane Love compared YSL to a pack of wolves and called Williams “the leader of his gang”. Young Thug’s attorney, Brian Steel, painted a portrait of a talented, hard-working young man who used his music to lift himself and those close to him out of poverty.

December 4, 2023: A juror in the trial was excused from the case after being admitted to a hospital over the weekend.

December 11, 2023: One of the defendants, Shannon Stillwell, is stabbed at the Fulton County Jail, putting the trial on hold until after the holidays.

February 23, 2024: Another juror in the trial was excused after leaving Fulton County three months after the trial began. Juror No. 204, a store manager, said she signed a lease in Cherokee County. She first informed the court of her plans to move six months earlier, well before she was selected for jury duty.

Credit: Miguel Martínez

Credit: Miguel Martínez

June 10, 2024: Brian Steel, a well-respected defense attorney, is charged with contempt by Judge Ural Glanville after raising questions about a meeting held earlier in the day between the judge, state prosecutors and a key witness. Glanville demanded to know how Steel knew of the secret meeting, but the lawyer refused to disclose his source. Glanville sentenced Steel to 20 days in jail, to be served over 10 consecutive weekends. His sentence was later suspended by the Georgia Supreme Court, but his contempt charge has yet to be resolved.