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Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: Kenneth Copeland, jury sent home early Tuesday

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Updated  August 13, 2024 2:02pm EDT
YSL Trial
FOX 5 Atlanta

ATLANTA - Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland returned to the witness stand in the Young Thug and YSL racketeering trial in Fulton County on Tuesday morning. The following are notes from the proceedings:

3:30 P.M. UPDATE: Court has been dismissed for the day. Judge Whitaker told the court that she hopes to be done with Kenneth Copeland's testimony by Friday because that many days for a single witness is a lot.

Copeland and the jury are expected to return Wednesday morning.

Also, Judge Whitaker advised the court that Friday will be a half day because a juror has a funeral to attent. She also mentioned there would be no jury next week because Judge Glanville had already scheduled a break. And, Judge Whitaker will be off Thursday and Friday of the week after that because of a planned vacation.

Judge Whitaker also decided to take a look at Young Thug's motion in limine about the PowerPoint from Detective Dennis. His attorneys filed a supplement to the original motion on Aug. 9. The attorneys are arguing about what should be included in the PowerPoint. Judge Whitaker appears to agree that there are some things in the PowerPoint that should not be there. She gives the state until Friday to go through the presentation and make the needed changes.

1:40 P.M. UPDATE: Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland and the jury have been sent home for the day after the court apparently learned from Copeland that his attorney has been suspended for 6 months. Copeland told Judge Whitaker that he did not want to testify without an attorney. 

Before letting Copeland go, Judge Whitaker gave Copeland the name and number of a public defender who will be able to represent Copeland going forward. 

After Copeland and the jury left the courtroom, Judge Whitaker told the state to have their next witness ready in case things "go a different direction" tomorrow. 

11:30 P.M. UPDATE: Deputy District Attorney Simone Hylton continues go through Copeland's interviews line by line. 

At one point, she focused on a supposed meeting at a McDonald's, immediately following the murder of Donovan Thomas. 

Copeland also complained at one point about Young Thug rapping about him in songs. Copeland said he didn't like the timing of when the song dropped because it made investigators go after him. However, when he was asked when did Young Thug rap about him, Copeland went back to his now-standard answer of "I don't recall."

Hylton has also been questioning Copeland about a Pontiac car apparently because Copeland previously told police that Young Thug and a female were in the car the night Thomas was killed.

For the most part, Copeland is not providing complete answers and is still insisting that he lied in 2015.

10 A.M. UPDATE: Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland is back on the stand. Deputy District Attorney Simone Hylton immediately began questioning him about his testimony late Monday afternoon about giving his friend, Threat, the car that was reportedly used during the murder of Donovan "Nut" Thomas.

Hylton has been going through Copeland's interviews from 2015 line by line

Copeland is once again answering most questions with "I don't recall." At one point, he changed that answer to "I don't recall nothing."

Occasionally, he will start to give an answer, but then cuts himself off and gives his now-standard "I don't recall" response.

Copeland is also still insisting that he would say anything in 2015 to "throw" the detectives off and he would tell the police anything to stay out of jail.

In other news, Copeland's attorney, Jonathan Melnick, has apparently been suspended from practicing law for 6 months by the Georgia Supreme Court for his work on a child custody case in 2017. 

RELATED: Kenneth Copeland's attorney suspended for 6 months for previous case

ORIGINAL STORY

Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland returned to the stand on Monday after a long delay in the YSL RICO trial, where Fulton County prosecutors questioned him extensively.

Despite being the state's star witness, Copeland's repeated "I don’t recall" responses and admissions of past lies have possibly weakened the prosecution's case against Young Thug and others.

Legal experts who spoke with FOX 5 Atlanta are divided on the impact of his testimony, with some seeing it as a major blow to the state's case, while others believe convictions are still possible.

Copeland, who asked the judge several times on Monday about his immunity deal, also admitted to at least one crime while on the stand on Monday.

MONDAY'S STORIES

Copeland told the state prosecutor that he and a friend opened fire on a barbershop on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway owned by the father of rapper Rich Homie Quan, whose real name is Dequantes Lamar, in September 2014. The shooting resulted in the owner, Corey Lamar, being hospitalized.

Copeland also implicated his friend known as "Threat" in the murder of Donovan "Nut" Thomas. Although Copeland claimed he did not know if Threat was responsible for the killing, he told the court that he had given the Infinit, which was used in the crime, to him.

Threat, whose real name is Travante Turner, was killed June 29 during a shooting on Peyton Place SW.

Copeland spent most of the day on Monday responding "I don't recall" to the state prosecutor's questions. He also complained several times about being called to testify, saying, "I'm tired of y'all bothering me."

Additionally, Copeland said many times that he lied about everything in 2015, including Young Thug's alleged involvement in criminal activities. Copeland told the court and jurors that he would have done anything to avoid being in trouble himself. 

Copeland also said that he is not admitting to his lies to help Young Thug, saying he doesn't care anything about him and he only cares about the truth.

Jurors were told by the new judge on the case – Judge Paige Reese Whitaker – to disregard Copeland's testimony after 3 p.m. June 12. When asked if they would be able to do so, none of the jurors indicated they would have an issue doing so. 

Young Thug's attorney, Brian Steel, called for a mistrial at one point after the state prosecutor, Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Simone Hylton, made a statement rather phrasing it in the form of a question. Hylton was warned by the judge to be more "artful" from the get-go with her questioning. 

Copeland is expected to return to the stand on Tuesday morning.

Young Thug and 27 others were indicted in 2022 for violating Georgia's RICO or racketeering law and committing multiple violent crimes. Following the longest jury selection in history (10 months), a trial for Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) and several co-defendants got underway in November 2023. It is now the longest trial in Georgia history. Prosecutors are attempting to prove that YSL (Young Slime Life) is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous offenses, including murder. The defendants maintain that YSL stands for Young Stoner Life and is the name of a record label founded by Young Thug. Young Thug is facing 8 criminal charges. 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.