Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: More surprises in case on Wednesday

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The following is a breakdown of the significant things that happened on Aug. 7 in the ongoing trial for Young Thug (Jeffery Williams) and several others in Fulton County. Williams and the other defendants have been charged with racketeering and various other crimes, including murder (Williams is not charged with murder).

On Wednesday, the new judge on the case gave prosecutors a deadline of noon Friday to make the court aware of any other evidence they have not turned over to the defense. This was done after it came out earlier this week that there was information available about another suspect with ties to YSL.

Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: Judge issues ultimatum for prosecutors to turn over evidence

3:35 P.M. UPDATE: After a brief break, Judge Whitaker asks the attorneys if there is going to be another 4:30/5 p.m. surprise revelation like there was yesterday. The defense replies there will not be.

It appears the judge, attorneys and defendants will not be in court on Friday because the judge has a conflict. Judge Whitaker tells the attorneys that she 

Judge Whitaker tells the attorneys that since they will not be in court on Friday, she needs the proposed jury instructions related to Kenneth Copeland's possible restart by tomorrow.

1:50 P.M. UPDATE: Judge Whitaker appears to accept Love's explanation as to how the release of the evidence was handled. She asks Love once again if there is anything else out there that the defense needs to know about and Love replies that she needs more time to figure out if there is anything else that needs to be revealed. Judge Whitaker agrees to give her a deadline of noon Friday to make sure there isn't anything else being withheld from the defense. 

After Judge Whitaker warns the prosecution that things are different now and she expects the prosecution to follow her rules instead of Judge Glanville's, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland pops up and tells the judge that the state was also warned against this type of thing by Judge Glanville and Judge Whitaker should not accept their excuses. 

1:35 P.M. UPDATE: After lunch, prosecutor Adriane Love tells the judge that the cell phone number and Demarco Boyer's name was in the discovery that was turned over in 2022, but was under the Cordarius Dorsey conspiracy package.

Dorsey was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2022 for the shooting death of a 39-year-old husband and father at a Decatur gas station 3 years ago. Dorsey was associated with the Slaughter Gang and Young Slime Life gang, according to authorities.

Before the judge, lawyers and defendants returned to court, Steel filed a Motion in Limine requesting the exclusion of the cellphone data as well as a report/analysis that was submitted by Agent Berni.

11 A.M. UPDATE: Judge Whitaker and the attorneys are now continuing their discussion of the testimony of Quindarius Zachary.

9:40 A.M. UPDATE: Judge Whitaker asks prosecutor Adriane Love if there is anything else that the defense should know about. When Love doesn't answer, Judge Whitaker tells Love that she wants her to "huddle" with her team and give her an answer when they return from lunch today.

The court is now taking a break so that Love can check on something. 

9:30 A.M. UPDATE: The morning has started with Judge Whitaker questioning the prosecution about the "bombshell" dropped as the day was ending on Tuesday.

Attorney Brian Steel brought it to Judge Whitaker's attention they had received some new evidence about a cell phone number and records through a late discovery submitted by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

Initially, Love told the judge they left that information out of earlier discovery "inadvertly." However, on Wednesday morning, she admitted in court that they withheld the information because the person connected to the cell phone number had not been arrested when they released evidence initially.

The evidence appears to be in connection to the murder of Shymel Drinks and a suspect named Demarco Boyer. Damekion Garlington has already been charged with the murder of Drinks. Young Thug co-defendants Quamarvious Nichols and Shannon Stillwell are also accused of killing Drinks.

Demarco Boyer was arrested Dec. 20, 2023, for a triple shooting at a gas station in DeKalb County.

ORIGINAL STORY

In Fulton County, both prosecution and defense teams are set to return to court Wednesday to determine the future proceedings of the extensive YSL RICO trial. 

Court is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Check back here at that time for a livestream or watch the livestream on our YouTube channel and join the commentary. 

This comes after Judge Paige Whitaker paused the trial yesterday following the unexpected appearance of a key prosecution witness, Kenneth Copeland.

The trial was abruptly halted late Tuesday morning when Copeland arrived at the courthouse. His testimony is crucial to the case, and his presence has introduced significant developments.

Copeland had previously been part of a confidential meeting with the original judge, Ural Glanville. During that meeting, Copeland had been told by the prosecutors in the case from the Fulton County District Attorney's Office that he could be sent to jail until all the defendants in the YSL racketeering case had gone to trial – statements that the new judge, Paige Whitaker, now say were inaccurate.

During Tuesday's session, Judge Whitaker addressed Copeland, stating, "What I want to ask you right now, I know that you have been given immunity regarding your testimony, and there had been, at some point, you didn't want to testify, at some point you did want to testify."

Copeland responded, "I never wanted to testify."

PREVIOUS STORY: Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: Kenneth 'Lil Woody' Copeland tentatively agrees to testify

Defense attorneys for Young Thug argue that Copeland's testimony was coerced. Judge Whitaker's immediate concern was whether Copeland had legal representation to navigate the implications of his testimony and the potential jail time if he refused to cooperate. Copeland inquired, "If I don't testify, how long are you going to hold me in jail?" Judge Whitaker clarified, "So that's still an issue that you can be held in jail through the end of this trial."

Copeland's testimony could proceed as soon as next week if he decides to testify. If not, he will be held in contempt of court, according to Judge Whitaker. Copeland was ordered to be ready to appear in court at 8:45 a.m. Monday. 

Additionally, defense lawyers told the court on Monday they had learned about another ex parte or secret meeting between prosecutors and Judge Glanville that reportedly happened on June 7, which was 3 days before the June 10 ex parte meeting that led to the removal of Glanville from the case. Judge Whitaker warned the prosecutors that she takes Brady violations very seriously and has given the prosecutors until Friday to file a response to explain the meeting. 

And in a related development, the defense has filed another motion to disqualify the two chief deputy district attorneys prosecuting the case. Attorney Brian Steel, who represents Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams), filed the supplemental motion on Tuesday after his most recent motion to disqualify the two lead prosecutors was denied. In the motion, Steel wrote that the examples of misconduct cited in the motion did not "truly encapsulate the horror of working with lawyer Love and lawyer Hylton."

RELATED: Young Thug's attorney cites 'horror' in push to disqualify prosecutors

Lastly, before court was adjourned on Tuesday, it was revealed that there was possibly another person in the car on the day that Donovan "Nut" Thomas Jr. was murdered in 2015. 

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.