Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: Kenneth 'Lil Woody' Copeland tentatively agrees to testify
The attorneys, defendants and judge involved in the largest RICO (racketeering) trial in Georgia history were back in a Fulton County courtroom on Tuesday and although the day started out fairly routine, it didn't stay that way for long.
The state's star witness, Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland, made an appearance, attorney Brian Steel filed another motion to have the prosecutors removed from the case, and a "bombshell" revelation was made at the end of the day. The following is a breakdown of what happened on Aug. 6:
4:30 P.M. UPDATE: After Copeland left the courtroom, Judge Whitaker and the attorneys returned to arguing about what statements to redact ahead of testimony by a separate witness.
Judge Whitaker appears annoyed once again about multiple things not being done, including exhibit lists. She also tells the attorneys that she wants suggestions from them on what to tell the jury about starting from the beginning with Kenneth Copeland.
Attorney Brian Steel then begins complaining about late discovery, saying they received a new cell phone number last night.
Love tells the court that the person was in the car when one of the murders occurred, but they had not finished their investigation when the current trial began and that's why it was not disclosed earlier.
Judge Whitaker accused the attorneys of liking to drop "bombshells" at the end of the day and said they would continue to talk about it on Wednesday.
3 P.M. UPDATE: Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland is brought back into the courtroom. Judge Whitaker walks him through the agreement with the state in regard to testifying. She explains they were incorrect, however, when they told him that he could be locked up until ALL YSL defendants have gone to trial. She also explains that the court plans to have him start over – his testimony from his previous appearances will be discarded. Judge Whitaker also advises Copeland that if he does not testify, he will be held in contempt.
After a couple of questions from Copeland, Judge Whitaker asks him if he will or will not testify in front of a jury when he is called to court on Monday morning. Copeland replies, "Depend on how I wake up."
2:35 P.M. UPDATE: Attorney Jonathan Melnick has joined court by Zoom. Judge Whitaker tells Melnick that they have basically agreed to have Kenneth Copeland start over with his testimony and she needs to know if Melnick is still his attorney. Melnick responds that he is Copeland's attorney.
ADA Love tells the judge that she objects to Copeland being brought in and asked if he is willing to testify again. She claims it is some type of safety concern. Judge Whitaker points out that he is going to have to come into court at some point and say whether he is willing to testify against the defendants.
2:15 P.M. UPDATE: ADA Love attempts to convince Judge Whitaker that if Copeland refuses to testify again, he can be held in contempt and kept in jail until the end of the next trial. Judge Whitaker is still skeptical and Love has inadequate case law. Finally, attorney Careton Matthews finds the "perfect" case law that aligns with Judge Whitaker's belief that Copeland can only be held until the end of the current trial and tells ADA Love that she has made her decision.
1:30 P.M. UPDATE: Court is back in session after a lunch break. Judge Whitaker says they were able to reach attorney Jonathan Melnick, but can't appear in court (by Zoom) until 3 p.m. Judge Whitaker says it's still not clear if Melnick currently represents Copeland, but hopefully that question will be resolved by the time they speak with Copeland and Melnick this afternoon.
11:30 A.M. UPDATE: Witness Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland has appeared and taken the stand in the courtroom.
It was apparent that the court was surprised by Copeland's appearance and there also appears to be some confusion about whether Copeland is still represented by attorney Jonathan Melnick (Copeland appears to believe that he is).
Judge Whitaker explained to Copeland he was being brought in because information given to him about being held in jail during the June 10 ex parte meeting was inaccurate.
Copeland immediately sought to clarify exactly how long he would be detained if he refused to testify.
Judge Whitaker instructed him that they would let him go for now until they could figure out if he has representation, but he should be prepared to come back this afternoon. She explained she wanted to make sure that he was advised properly before discussing the possibility of testifying in the future.
Judge Whitaker also told the state that it needs to do research during the lunch break and provide the case law that would actually keep Copeland in custody until after the trial of the severed defendants concludes if he refuses to testify.
11:25 A.M. UPDATE: It appears that Judge Whitaker won't rule on the outstanding motions for a mistrial or on the renewed request by attorney Brian Steel to remove the prosecution team of Love and Hylton until Friday.
On Tuesday morning, Love continued to argue that they didn't violate the rule of ethics and that the state had no conversation about the case after they were notified that attorney Jonathan Melnick was representing Kenneth Copeland.
The discussion also continued on Tuesday morning regarding Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland's testimony.
Judge Whitaker is trying to determine if Copeland's testimony was coerced and if his entire testimony should be redone.
"I'm not sure about Mr. Copeland's credibility on anything," Whitaker said about having to ask Copeland whether he was coerced.
Copeland has expressed on social media that he felt coerced.
Judge Whitaker also said that she doesn't believe what the prosecutors told Copeland about having to stay in jail until even the severed co-defendants had gone to trial was allowed under the law.
At this time, the plan is to bring Copeland into the courtroom on Wednesday. Judge Whitaker wants to ensure that Copeland has proper representation, as he apparently fired both attorney Melnick and attorney Kayla Bumpus.
After deciding that Copeland should appear in court on Wednesday, the judge and attorneys for both sides began discussions related to another important witness -- Quindarius Zachary.
Zachary was not indicted along with Young Thug and the other defendants. He reportedly reached a plea deal with the state that allowed him to avoid prison.
ORIGINAL STORY
The trial of Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, and his co-defendants will resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
On Monday, the ex-parte meeting on June 10 was the primary topic of the day.
That meeting led to the removal of the original judge on the case, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville. After another judge recused herself because her former deputy was involved with one of the defendants, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took over the case.
MONDAY'S STORY: June 10 ex parte meeting being discussed in court
On Monday, defense attorneys alleged there was an off-the-record conversation during the June 10 ex-parte meeting during which Brady material (information favorable to the defendants' case) may have been revealed.
However, the state claimed it did not happen.
Melnick takes the stand
Attorney Jonathan Melnick was the first lawyer to take the stand on Monday. Melnick said he had received two transcripts containing allegations that he was working with attorneys Brian Steel and Max Schardt and that the allegations were untrue. Melnick has previously said that he doesn't care what happens to the defendants in the YSL case and only cares about his client. Melnick also said at the time that he was going to contact the Georgia State Bar about Love contacting his client when she knew he had counsel.
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office claimed they did not know that Melnick represented state witness Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland, but Melnick insisted that was not true and that he had made it clear to Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Adriane Love that he was representing Copeland.
Bumpus takes the stand
Attorney Kayala Bumpus, who was representing state witness Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland during the ex-parte meeting, also took the stand on Monday after attorney Doug Weinstein told Judge Whitaker that Bumpus told him about an off-the-record conversation about the murder of Donovan Thomas that happened between Copeland, Bumpus, and Deputy District Attorney Simone Hylton.
On the stand Monday, Fulton County Assistant Chief District Attorney Adriane Love asked Bumpus if Copeland confessed to killing anyone.
Bumpus replied no.
Defense attorney Doug Weinstein then pointed out that Copeland was talking about the murder of Donovan Thomas when he allegedly said, "I can claim all of this, I can take all of this over and over again."
Investigator Long confirms off-the-record conversation
After a lunch break, ADA Love called Investigator Long to the stand, who verified that an off-the-record conversation did take place but said it was very short. He also testified that DDA Hylton was never alone with Copeland and that Copeland never said anything about the vehicle used in the murder of Thomas.
Steels renews quest to have Love/Hylton removed
Attorney Brian Steel, who represents Jeffery Williams, once again brought up his request to have Love and Hylton removed from the case. Steel spoke for several minutes about how there have been no sanctions against the prosecutors for their actions and conduct during the trial and that it was not fair to the defense lawyers or their clients.
Judge Whitaker assured Steel that "this court takes Brady violations very seriously" and she is aware that she has the authority to remove the Fulton County District Attorney's Office prosecutors from the case.
Judge still considering mistrial
Before the end of the day, Judge Whitaker urged the attorneys to get together on Monday night and agree on what needs to be excluded from Copeland's testimony. Judge Whitaker also said that it might be best to redo the entirety of Copeland's testimony if he agrees to testify. Additionally, Judge Whitaker urged the attorneys to think about all the potential ways that the case can move forward, including plea deals.
Judge Whitaker also said she is still considering and working through motions for a mistrial.
Young Thug and his co-defendants were indicted in 2022. Following the longest jury selection in history (10 months), the trial got underway in November 2023. It is the longest trial in Georgia history. The trial has been plagued by various disruptions, including illnesses, the arrests of a juror and a lawyer, the stabbing of defendant Shannon Stillwell, the removal of the judge originally assigned to the case, and more.