Young Thug trial stalled: State must file response to recusal motions today
Quantavious Grier, brother of Young Thug, will now have to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison after being discovered with a weapon. (FOX 5)
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The trial for Young Thug (Jeffery Williams) and his associates remains on hold while some defendants seek to have Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville recused from the case.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause signed an order last week requiring the state (Fulton County District Attorney's Office) to file a written response by 5 p.m. Monday, July 8, to the motions filed against Glanville.
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"Time is of the essence given that a jury trial is currently paused pending resolution of these recusal motions," the order from Krause stated.
However, before Krause issued the order, defendant Deamonte Kendrick filed a motion to disqualify any Fulton County Superior Court judge from ruling on the motions for recusal.
According to the motion, "it is inappropriate for any trial court judge to preside in any action wherein one of the parties holds a judicial office on the same or any other court which sits in the same circuit."
The massive RICO trial has faced numerous issues since the beginning.
After the longest jury selection in the history of the state, the trial has been interrupted multiple times by illnesses, the arrests of a juror and lawyer, the stabbing of defendant Shannon Stillwell, and various other disruptions.
Witness testimony hasn't been heard in nearly two weeks at this point.
The latest motions stem from the handling of witness Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland.
It began on June 7 when Copeland suddenly decided not to testify for the state and asserted his Fifth Amendment right on the witness stand.
He was held in contempt of court and sent to jail over the weekend.
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On June 10, there was an ex parte meeting with Copeland, Judge Glanville, the prosecutors, and others in the judge's chambers. Copeland then returned to the stand to testify.
Brian Steel, lawyer for Jeffery Williams (Young Thug), found out about the meeting and confronted Judge Glanville during a break. When Steel would not disclose how he found out about the meeting, Glanville held him in contempt of court and sentenced him to spend the next 10 weekends in jail.
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Ultimately, the Georgia Supreme Court stepped in and stayed Judge Glanville's order while Steel submits an appeal.
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Steel and other defense attorneys filed motions on behalf of their clients to have Judge Glanville disqualified or recused from the case.
Glanville denied their motions.
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Kendrick attempted to bypass Judge Glanville and went straight to the Georgia Supreme Court. However, they refused to consider the motion, saying Kendrick had to follow procedure.
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It was then decided that another judge should hear the motions, not Judge Glanville.
The trial for Williams and his co-defendants cannot proceed until the matter is settled.
If Kendrick's latest motion to have someone outside Fulton County handle the matter is denied and Krause hears the motions, it doesn't necessarily mean she will be the one to take over the case.
What are the charges Young Thug faces?
A Fulton County grand jury indicted Young Thug (Jeffery Williams) 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 is also accused of participation in criminal street gang activity, as well as drug and gun charges.
Prosecutors say Williams and two other people co-founded a violent criminal street gang in 2012 called Young Slime Life, or YSL, which they say is associated with the national Bloods gang. The indictment says 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 includes 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 is an allegation that Williams 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 Williams rented a silver Infiniti sedan that was used in the killing of a rival gang member. 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.
RELATED: YSL defendants in court: Several remaining defendants reject plea deals
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).