DA asks for delay in street gang case against YSL rapper Young Thug
ATLANTA - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a 10-page motion Thursday afternoon to delay the trial of Young Thug, Gunna and 26 other defendants in a large RICO case.
The delay request all has to do with the fact that more than a quarter of the suspects do not have attorneys yet.
In the motion, Willis says eight of the 28 defendants in the case still do not have attorneys, months after their indictments. She is asking that the trial scheduled for January 9 be delayed until March 27 to give the defendants time to get a lawyer.
In the motion, she writes, "a continuance to the final week in March would protect the speedy trial rights of those who have asserted those rights, while also ensuring that the additional eight defendants have properly prepared appointed counsel."
Young Thug and Gunna's real names are Jeffery Williams and Sergio Kitchens, both sitting behind bars along with 23 other co-defendants waiting for trial.
Prosecutors believe Williams and Kitchens led a street gang called "Young Slime Life." The DA’s office says the two, along with their associates used violence, drugs, and even murder to make money.
The Thursday motion also said the defendants should be tried together because they participated in the same conspiracy and similar evidence would be used in each trial.
In the motion, prosecutors write that they are, "concerned about the inconvenience and "trauma" of repeated testimony of witnesses who were the victims of violent gang crimes."
The judge will look at the motion later this month and make a decision.
It should be pointed out, attorneys for the rappers have repeatedly denied the charges.
Jeffery Lamar Williams, who goes by the stage name Young Thug, appears before a judge via video link from the Fulton County Jail on May 10, 2022. (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
What are the charges against YSL rapper Young Thug, Gunna, others
The founder of Young Stoner Life Records is now accused of illegally possessing multiple firearms, including a modified machine gun, in addition to street gang activity and drug trafficking.
The 30-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, and 27 other people, was indicted along with fellow Atlanta rapper Gunna in May using Georgia’s RICO Act. The 88-page indictment claims they are part of the Young Slime Life, or YSL, a subset of the Bloods street gang. Prosecutors allege those named in the indictment have engaged in violent criminal activity in the city since 2012.
Young Thug, Martinez Arnold (also known as Duke) and Deamonte Kendrick (also known as Yak Gotti) are accused of possessing and attempting to sell marijuana and cocaine in May 2022. The indictment says they were possessing multiple guns: a GLOCK 357, a FN firearm, a GLOCK 19, a Smith & Wesson M&P and a GLOCK 45 with a "converter switch and extended magazine." The GLOCK 45 modified into a machine gun resulted in another gun possession charge.
The total list of charges against 28 accused is up to 65 counts. The reindictment accused three additional people — Deamonte Kendrick, also known as Yak Gotti; Shannon Stillwell, AKA Shannon Jackson or SB; and Quamarvious Nichols, AKA Qua — of separate gun charges.
Rapper Gunna, born Sergio Kitchens (Fulton County Jail).
RAPPER YOUNG THUGS' RICO ACT CHARGES EXPLAINED
Prosecutors claim Williams is a co-founder of the alleged street gang YSL. The indictment also gives a detailed account of various violent crimes alleged members of YSL are accused of, and documents social media posts and rap lyrics by Williams that reference YSL.
In June,a judge denied bond and an elaborate house arrest plan. Several factors were taken into consideration including a threat introduced to the court attributed to Williams from 2015 that states "Anybody goes into courtroom and tells the god's honest truth, they'll be f---ing killed." The judge said the validity of that threat would need to be proven in court, but it speaks to his possibly being a danger to the community.
If convicted of a RICO charge, Williams could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Gunna, whose name is Sergio Kitchens, had his bond denied in May.
What is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act?
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, was developed to fight organized crime. It was enacted in 1970 after being signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
Federally, RICO was originally was intended to be used to combat the Mafia. It draws from a list of 27 federal crimes and eight state crimes committed repeated over the course of a 10-year period. Those crimes can include fraud, theft, computer crimes, embezzlement, credit scams, investment schemes, human trafficking, illegal gambling, bribery, kidnapping, murder, money laundering, counterfeiting, and various drug charges.
The Justice Department has used RICO to dismantle multiple crime families and weed out corruption in several city police departments. Prosecutors have also used RICO to try to dismantle several street gangs and helped in prosecuting businesses that break federal law.
Georgia’s RICO statutes are similar to the federal version , but are much broader in that the criminal "enterprise" does not have to be around as long. Georgia is one of only 33 states that has its own RICO statutes. However, in both state and federal laws, a pattern of criminal enterprise has to be established.