The arrest of Atlanta rapper Young Thug stunned the music community in May 2022 after the Grammy winner was indicted and accused of being the leader of a gang. Nearly two-and-a-half years later, Young Thug pleaded guilty in the middle of his sprawling gang and racketeering trial which became the longest in Georgia history.
Jury selection began in January 2023, but the opening arguments did not begin until November of that year. The trial ended on December 3, 2024 with an acquittal on all but one charge against Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick.
Here’s a timeline of events:
May 9, 2022: Chart-topping Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is indicted by a Fulton County grand jury along with 27 others, including fellow musician Gunna. The sprawling racketeering indictment alleged Williams is the co-founder and leader of a criminal street gang called Young Slime Life, or YSL. Authorities contend the group is based in the Cleveland Avenue area of south Atlanta, where Williams grew up.
May 9, 2022: That evening, Williams is handcuffed during a police raid at his Buckhead home and taken to jail. The Grammy winner’s arrest stunned fans and musicians alike.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
May 10, 2022: The following day, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis held a news conference in which she touted the sweeping gang indictment as a victory against crime. Willis called targeting gangs a top priority and claimed they were responsible for at least “75 to 80% of all of the violent crime that we are seeing within our community.” She later defended her decision to use the star’s rap lyrics against him, saying, “if you decide to admit your crimes over a beat, I’m going use it.”
May 11, 2022: Musician Gunna, who’s real name is Sergio Kitchens, turns himself in on the RICO charge. His attorneys released a statement maintaining his innocence. Authorities tack on drug and weapons possession charges for Young Thug stemming from a search of his home during the artist’s arrest. The defendants are held in jail without bond.
June 14, 2022: Gunna pens a letter from the Fulton County Jail on his 29th birthday. “For now, I don’t have my freedom. But I am innocent,” he said. “I am being falsely accused and will never stop fighting to clear my name!”
Aug. 5, 2022: The case is re-indicted and additional charges are added.
Oct. 6, 2022: Nearly five months after the indictment, Fulton prosecutors asked to delay the start of trial because eight of the 28 people charged still didn’t have defense attorneys. The request came days after veteran prosecutor Don Geary left the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for a position in Gwinnett County. Adriane Love took over as the lead prosecutor in the case shortly after that.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Dec. 14, 2022: Gunna and another defendant accepted plea deals offered by the state and were released from jail. The musician entered a guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy to violate the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. He had his sentence commuted to time served but was ordered to complete 500 hours of community service. Several other defendants also accepted plea deals ahead of the start of jury selection.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Dec. 15, 2022: During a pre-trial hearing, someone barged into the court’s Zoom meeting with some full-frontal commentary. A pornographic video of a completely nude man was shown on screens throughout the courtroom along with the message “Free Young Thug.” Deputies scrambled to turn off the screens as the judge insisted on maintain decorum in the courtroom.
Jan. 4, 2023: Hundreds of potential jurors reported to the Fulton County Courthouse for the start of what would become the longest trial in Georgia history. The 12 trial jurors and six alternates weren’t seated until November. Several potential jurors got in trouble for failing to return to court, including one woman who said she traveled to the Dominican Republic on a business trip. Another potential juror spent about five hours in custody after she was caught filming court proceedings on her cellphone.
Jan. 18, 2023: Jury selection was disrupted when one of the defendants, Kahlieff Adams, was seen walking up to Young Thug and handing him what prosecutors said was a Percocet pill in open court.
April 17, 2023: Some attorneys begin complaining about the length of the case, saying the unusually long process kept them from assisting other clients. “To be honest, I could make more money working at Chick-fil-A,” said lawyer Justin Hill, who was one of the attorneys appointed by the Georgia Public Defender Council. The attorneys were initially told they would receive $15,000, regardless of how long the trial takes. The GPDC later agreed to pay them more money.
April 19, 2023: Court proceedings were interrupted by loud screams after deputies searched defendant Rodalius Ryan in a courthouse holding room and said they found two bags of marijuana sewn into his underwear.
April 20, 2023: The next day, defense attorney Anastasios Manettas was arrested at a secondary checkpoint when he tried to enter the courtroom with some of his prescription medication.
June 2, 2023: Courthouse deputy Akeiba Stanley is arrested and fired after she was accused of having a romantic relationship with defendant Christian Eppinger. Authorities alleged she “fostered an inappropriate relationship” with the defendant by visiting his jail cell and allegedly conspiring with one of his relatives to deliver prohibited items.
June 23, 2023: After more than a year behind bars, Young Thug releases a new album from jail. Titled “Business is Business,” the record featured rappers Drake, Future, 21 Savage and Travis Scott, among others. Fellow defendant Yak Gotti, whose real name is Deamonte Kendrick, is also featured on one of the tracks.
Oct. 18, 2023: Prosecutors reveal in a court filing that they spent more than a month surveilling a potential juror because they didn’t believe he lived in Fulton County. Some defense attorneys were shocked to learn the DA’s office used taxpayer resources to stake out the juror and track his movements.
July 2024: Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville was removed from overseeing the case over his handling of complaints from defense lawyers. They objected to being excluded from a June 10 meeting he had with the prosecution team and a reluctant key state witness. Judge Paige Reese Whitaker was assigned to take his place.
Oct. 31, 2024: After nearly two and a half years behind bars, Atlanta rapper Young Thug is pleading guilty in his sprawling gang and racketeering trial that became the longest in state history. His punishment was not immediately determined.
Oct. 24, 2023: Another prospective juror was handcuffed in court and detained for six hours over emails he admitted sending to court staff. In one, the man called it “entirely unrealistic” to have to call a court hotline each night for instructions. In others, he complained about not being able to take a vacation and said that his participation in the case contributed to his wife’s anxiety and depression. “I believe the defendants are guilty,” he wrote, underscoring his unwillingness to continue as a juror in the case. He was ultimately excused from jury service.
Nov. 1, 2023: After a tedious 10-month selection process, a jury was finally selected for the sprawling gang and racketeering trial.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Nov. 27, 2023: More than 18 months after Young Thug’s arrest, the trial begins in earnest with opening statements. Lead prosecutor Adriane Love likened YSL to a wolfpack and called Williams the “head of his gang.” Young Thug’s attorney, Brian Steel, painted the picture of a talented and hardworking young man who used his music to pull himself and his loved ones out of poverty.
Dec. 4, 2023: A trial juror was excused from the case after she was admitted to the hospital over the weekend.
Dec. 11, 2023: One of the defendants, Shannon Stillwell, is stabbed at the Fulton County jail, halting trial proceedings until after the holidays.
Feb. 23, 2024: Another trial juror was excused after moving out of Fulton County three months into the trial. Juror No. 204, a store manager, said she signed a lease in Cherokee County. She first notified the court of her plans to move six months earlier, well before she was selected as a juror.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
June 10, 2024: Brian Steel, a well-respected defense attorney, is held in contempt by Judge Ural Glanville after raising questions about a meeting held earlier in the day between the judge, state prosecutors and a key witness. Glanville demanded to know how Steel learned of the secret meeting, but the lawyer refused to divulge his source. Glanville sentenced Steel to 20 days in jail, to be served over 10 consecutive weekends. His sentence was later stayed by the Georgia Supreme Court, but his contempt charge has yet to be resolved.
July 1, 2024: On the 100th day of trial, Judge Ural Glanville halted proceedings until motions seeking his recusal are decided by another judge. The move came after Glanville faced backlash for a secret June 10 meeting between prosecutors and a reluctant state’s witness. None of the defense attorneys involved in the case were present for the meeting in Glanville’s chambers
July 15, 2024: After trial was halted for two weeks, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause removed Judge Ural Glanville from the ongoing case. Although Krause determined that the secret June 10 meeting was not improper, she said Glanville “added facts, provided context, questioned the veracity of allegations, and otherwise explained his decisions and actions and argued why those actions were proper” when denying and talking about motions to recuse. Judge Shukura Ingram was reassigned the case.
July 17, 2024: Judge Paige Reese Whitaker is assigned to handle the case following Judge Ingram’s recusal over a romantic relationship her former courthouse deputy had with a co-defendant in the case.
July 19, 2024: Judge Whitaker holds her first status hearing as presiding judge over the case. She sets the schedule for the upcoming weeks, including motions hearings and announces that the jury is expected to be back on August 5, after more than a month out of court.
July 30, 2024: Judge Whitaker begins to rule and listen to argument on several motions filed by defense attorneys and prosecutors the week before. She quickly denies a gag order prosecutors sought to place on defense counsel.
Aug. 8, 2024: Judge Whitaker denies defendants’ motions for mistrial but orders entire prosecution team to undergo training on Brady and other professional obligations of a prosecutor. She allowed prosecutors Adriane Love and Simone Hylton to remain on the case.
Aug. 12, 2024: After a month on hiatus, the jury returned to the courtroom to listen to testimony from Kenneth Copeland.
Sept. 3, 2024: It took 16 days on the stand, spread out over three months, but Kenneth Copeland completed his testimony, with the possibility of being called back for more by the state.
Sept. 4, 2024: Former co-defendant Antonio Sledge began testifying as a state witness. His testimony consist of clarifying that most of the factual acknowledgements made in his plea agreement are not accurate.
Sept. 20, 2024: State witness Quindarius Zachary began his testimony after multiple days of questioning if he was healthy enough to take the stand and the state issuing a material witness warrant and arresting him to secure his testimony. Zachary was on the stand for four days.
Sept. 30, 2024: Judge Whitaker took an opportunity to admonish lead prosecutor Adriane Love, as well as question her candor with the court and competence as the case entered its 22nd month.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Oct. 9, 2024: A Fulton County jailer was arrested after an investigation revealed she allegedly received bribes worth $17,000 in exchange for allowing jail detainees to possess contraband and hang out in restricted areas of the troubled facility. She is accused of accepting payments from the family members of inmates she was tasked with supervising, including from relatives of YSL defendant, Marquavius Huey.
Oct. 17, 2024: Judge Whitaker rules that the testimony of former Atlanta police detective Ty Dennis needed to be struck from the record and the detective can no longer serve as a witness in the trial, after making a comment about one of the defendants being released from jail.
Oct. 18, 2024: Former co-defendant Antonio Sledge was sentenced to five years in prison after Judge Whitaker determined he was dishonest during his testimony.
Oct. 29, 2024: Defendant Quamarvious Nichols pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the state’s RICO act. Nichols was sentenced to 20 years, with seven to serve in custody and the balance on probation. He will get credit for the nearly three years he has already spent behind bars.
Oct. 30, 2024: Rodalius Ryan, 20, and Marquavius Huey, 28, both entered guilty pleas. Ryan, who is already serving a life sentence, was given 10 years in prison but had his sentence commuted to time served. Huey was sentenced to 25 years, with nine to serve in custody and 11 on probation.
Oct. 31, 2024: Atlanta rapper Young Thug entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 15 years on probation by Judge Whitaker. The rapper was released from jail shortly after his plea was entered.
Credit: File photos
Credit: File photos
Nov. 4, 2024: Court resumed with the only two remaining defendants: Deamonte Kendrick and Shannon Stillwell. The two rejected plea offers from prosecutors and elected to continue the trial. Each faces life in prison, plus additional time, if convicted of all charges.
Nov. 25, 2024: Closing arguments end in the longest trial in Georgia’s history.
Nov. 26, 2024: Jury begins deliberations on charges against Kendrick and Stillwell.
Dec 3, 2024: The longest trial in Georgia’s history came to an end after a Fulton County jury acquitted the two remaining “Young Slime Life” defendants of murder charges. Shannon Stillwell will serve time on probation for lesser charges. Deamonte Kendrick, who raps under the name Yak Gotti, was acquitted of all charges.
Dec. 3, 2024: Judge Whitaker directed prosecutors and defense attorneys for the remaining defendants to conduct plea negotiations until December 17.
Dec. 4, 2024: Defendant Jimmy Winfrey entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, commuted to time served with the remaining on probation.
Dec. 5, 2024: Prosecutors move to drop charges against six more defendants in YSL case.
Dec. 6, 2024: Prosecutors announce their intention to proceed to trial against the five remaining defendants and ask for a trial date of February 2025.
