Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial Day 6 | More police testimony expected
ATLANTA - The prosecution is continuing to call police witnesses as the YSL trial involving Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his associates continues on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, Young Thug, whose given name is Jeffrey Williams, entered the court wearing a peculiar sweater and onlookers took to social media wondering if it was symbolic.
His nearly $1,200 fuzzy pullover, designed by Mike Amiri, featured a graphic of a wolf.
Jurors were supposed to be reviewing body camera footage from an incident involving co-defendant Quamarvious Nichols.
Just last week during opening arguments, Fulton County's Chief Deputy Attorney recited Rudyard Kipling's "The Second Jungle Book," depicting Williams as the leader of the wolf pack.
Some took the outfit as a message to the prosecution and that underlying narrative.
People close to him have denied it.
Throughout the day, the state called a handful of current and former Atlanta police officers, including a former APD investigator who pulled over Nickels and co-defendant Shannon Stillwell, to the stand. None of their faces were shown on camera, per the judge's orders.
"I noticed a strong odor of marijuana while walking to the vehicle," the former investigator said.
He went on to testify that he and his partner recovered drugs and a gun from the vehicle that night.
Prosecutors hope that links those charges to the larger criminal enterprise Young Thug is accused of overseeing.
Court adjourned just before 5:40 p.m. Monday. It will resume at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Follow the Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial with FOX 5 Atlanta:
- Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial Day 1 | Defense asks for mistrial
- Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial Day 2 | Defense argues lyrics are 'art,' not admissions
- Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial Day 3 | Atlanta police gang detective takes stand
What do prosecutors say about Young Thug?
The gang began about a decade ago in Atlanta’s Cleveland Avenue neighborhood, born of an internal rift in a preceding gang, and Young Thug emerged as its leader, Love said. The gang’s members were "associated in fact" — using common identifiers, language, symbols and colors — and they "knew who their leader was and they knew the repercussions of not obeying their leader," she said.
"The people who have been affected directly and indirectly by the gang’s violence represent the lives "swallowed up by that crater created by YSL in the Cleveland Avenue community," Love said.
The Grammy winner, whose given name is Jeffery Williams, was charged last year in a sprawling indictment that accused him and more than two dozen others of conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. He also is charged with gang, drug and gun crimes and is standing trial with five of the others indicted with him.
Fulton County prosecutor Adriane Love didn’t dispute that Young Thug is a talented artist, but she said he exploited his gift for a darker purpose, using his songs, clout and social media posts to promote and establish the dominance of his gang, Young Slime Life, or YSL.
"Through that music, through that blessing, the evidence will show, Jeffery Williams led that group of people who wreaked utter havoc on Fulton County," Love told jurors during her opening statement Monday.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES YOUNG THUG FACES?
The indictment charges all the defendants with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Love acknowledged that may sound complicated but told the jurors it’s actually quite simple.
The members of the gang committed crimes, including murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and theft to further the gang’s mission, she said. Those actions and others that aren’t crimes — rap lyrics, social media posts, flashing gang signs — combined to form a pattern of illegal activity, she said.
"They endeavored to do some illegal stuff to get a bunch of stuff that didn’t belong to them," Love said.
Prosecutors have made clear that they intend to use rap lyrics from songs by the defendants to help make their case. This is a controversial tactic, but Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville earlier this month said he’d conditionally allow certain lyrics as long as prosecutors can show they’re linked to the crimes alleged in the indictment.
Prosecutors have said they’re not pursuing Young Thug and others because of violent lyrics.
"We didn’t chase the lyrics to solve the murders," Love said. "We chased the murders and, as the evidence will show, in the process, we found the lyrics."
Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial Day 3: First witness called
The first witnesses, of potentially several hundred, are expected to take the stand in the trial of rapper Young Thug and five associates on Wednesday. Prosecutors say all are part of the YSL gang, and now face charges for violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering and gang laws.
One of those murders that is expected to feature heavily during the trial is the January 2015 killing of Donovan Thomas, who prosecutors say was a major figure in a rival gang and whose death is said to have sparked an escalation in violence. Two of the six people currently on trial are charged with murder in his killing, and Young Thug is accused of renting the car used in the drive-by shooting.
What does the defense say in the Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial?
Young Thug was born into poverty in a crime-ridden housing project where he developed a strong distrust of the criminal justice system, Steel said. His family moved to the Cleveland Avenue area when he was 16, and he got out through hard work and talent, Steel said. But he didn’t forget his roots and has been extremely generous with his good fortune, defense attorney Brian Steel said.
"He’s not the crater. He’s trying to pull people out of poverty," Steel said.
Steel acknowledged that his client’s songs mention killing police, people being shot, drugs and drive-by shootings, but he said those are just the words he rhymed and a reflection of his rough upbringing and not a chronicle of his own activities.
"They want you to fear music that talks about killing, drugs," Steel told the jury in his opening statement Tuesday. "It is art. You don’t like it, you don’t have to listen to it. This is America. It is art."
Steel mentioned Young Thug’s collaborations with high-profile artists, appearances on television and numerous awards and riches that came with it. The rapper is so busy and successful that he wouldn’t have the time or motivation to lead a gang, Steel said.
"He is not sitting there telling people to kill people," he said. "He doesn’t need their money. Jeffrey’s worth tens of millions of dollars."
Steel noted that YSL is the name of Young Thug’s successful record label, but Love said the actions outlined in the indictment "have nothing to do with a recording label."
Lawyer calls Young Thug a 'studio gangster'
Day two of the YSL RICO Trial against Young Thug and his associates continued with opening statements. Brian Steel, Young Thug's attorney, spent hours pushing back against prosecutors' accusations that the rapper's music promotes violent gang activity. He claims his client is a "studio gangster," and his lyrics are just art.
Many of the lyrics, social media posts, text conversations and online messages cited in the indictment have been taken out of context and misrepresented to seem sinister when they are not, Steel said.
He and other defense attorneys tried during opening statements to poke holes in the state’s case, saying that police relied on jailhouse informants who had every reason to tell them what they wanted to hear. They also hammered the state’s use of song lyrics, saying the art that helped their clients better their circumstances is now being improperly used against them.
WHAT HAS YOUNG THUG BEEN DOING SINCE HIS ARREST?
Opening statements began Monday and continued Tuesday before a jury that took nearly 10 months to select. The trial is expected to last months. Only six of the original 28 defendants are on trial after others either took plea deals or were separated to be tried later.
Among those who took a plea deal was rapper Gunna, whose given name is Sergio Kitchens. He was charged with a single count of racketeering conspiracy and entered an Alford plea in December 2022, meaning he maintains his innocence but recognizes that it’s in his best interest to plead guilty.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.