Judge grants YSL rapper Young Thug's motion to suppress evidence
Hearing for Rapper Young Thug
Attorneys for Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose legal name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, is asking a judge to return his cell phone and suppress any evidence found in it. They argue the phone was seized, but was not part of the original search warrant. Williams is being charged under the RICO act along with a couple dozen other associates believed to be part of the YSL gang.
ATLANTA - The Atlanta rapper accused of being the co-founder of the Young Slime Life gang and charged along with more than two dozen alleged associates in the RICO Act case made his first appearance in court in several months on Thursday.
Young Thug, whose legal name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, smiled to the gallery as he made his way into the Fulton County courtroom. His attorneys were there to ask Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville to return property that was seized during what the defense calls an illegal search of his home in 2015. That property includes a cell phone, computer, and a small amount of marijuana.
The defense argues about the validity of the warrants or if any actually existed.
ARRESTED ATLANTA RAPPER YOUNG THUG FACING NEW CHARGES OVER ALLEGED I-85 INCIDENT
Rapper Young Thug sits in a Fulton County courtroom during a motions hearing on Dec. 15, 2022. (FOX 5)
The cell phone became significant because prosecutors extracted other evidence from it. It is that same evidence the defense wants to quash from the upcoming trial.
Judge Glanville sided with Williams’ attorneys, suppressing the associated evidence from the upcoming trial.
Williams, and 27 other people, were indicted along with fellow Atlanta rapper Gunna in May using Georgia’s RICO Act. The 88-page indictment claims they are part of the Young Slime Life, or YSL, a subset of the Bloods street gang. Prosecutors allege those named in the indictment have engaged in violent criminal activity in the city since 2012. Those alleged crimes include illegally possessing multiple firearms, including a modified machine gun, additionally street gang activity and drug trafficking.
Defense attorneys say YSL simply stands for the record label Young Stoner Life Records.
Atlanta rapper Gunna, alleged YSL co-founder enter plea deals
Williams’ hearing comes after two of his co-defendants enter pleas.
Atlanta rapper Gunna, whose legal name is Sergio Kitchens, entered an Alford plea, admitting the evidence against him would likely convict him, but he doesn’t necessarily admit he committed the crimes for which he was charged.
He would walk out of the Fulton County Jail on Wednesday evening sentenced to five years commuted to time served and the balance suspended. He also must complete 500 hours of community service.
Kitchens is compelled to testify for any party, but can invoke his Fifth Amendments right, he says. He also is not allowed to have contact with any of his former co-defendants.
Tuesday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that alleged YSL co-founder Walter Murphy entered a guilty plea. Murphy was sentenced to 10 years, with one year commuted to time served and nine years of probation, the newspaper reported.
Kitchens is signed to Williams’ Young Stoner Life record label. He scored his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with "DS4Ever" this year.
The trial for Williams and his now 25 co-defendants is expected to start Jan. 9, 2023.