A.M. ATL: A very hostile witness

Morning, y’all! Expect lower humidity and temperatures climbing to around 90 degrees this afternoon.

On the newsletter front, today’s edition covers everything from Hyundai-related water drama to a city park with a touching back story — plus Coca-Cola controversy, a massive meth bust and a key Braves player coming back.

But first: Georgia’s longest criminal trial gets testy.

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MEMORY ISSUES

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

We’ve written plenty about Young Thug’s trial in Fulton County. But this thing is a movie.

Already, the sprawling gang and racketeering case against the Grammy-winning Atlanta rapper and his co-defendants has wrought two years of courtroom chaos — and, barring a mistrial, finds itself nowhere near completion.

Cue Kenneth “Lil Woody” Copeland, the state’s key witness and his own sort of internet celebrity.

On Monday, he helped welcome jurors back from an eight-week hiatus with some pretty wild statements from the stand.

To prosecutors: “Am I here to tell the truth or remember my lies? I done told the police whatever. I’m gonna tell them whatever I can to finesse my way out of whatever situation I’m in.”
On an Atlanta police detective: “His brain was the size of a squirrel’s brain. You could just tell him anything, and he’d go for it.”
On pointing the finger at Young Thug: “In my mind, I knew the police would never go mess with him. It was easy for me to try throw the blame off on him to get them off of me.”

All that in addition to responding “I don’t recall” to many, MANY other questions.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Why it matters: Copeland is the same defendant whose reticence helped trigger the private meeting that got original Judge Ural Glanville kicked off the case (which led to the recent delay in proceedings).

He’s also someone the prosecution is relying on.

A convicted felon, Copeland first approached police in 2015 after the shooting death of a man named Donovan Thomas Jr.

He told detectives he was being wrongfully blamed for the killing — and, in a subsequent series of six interviews, reportedly helped lay a foundation for their investigation into Young Slime Life. Prosecutors say that’s the street gang led by Young Thug.

Copeland’s testimony, then, is key.

But the way things are going? With the backtracking and the hostility? Perhaps not for the prosecution.

“Leave me alone, let me leave,” he said in court Monday. “Y’all are pissing me off.”

Speaking of movies: Who would play the key roles in a Young Thug trial film? Send ideas to tyler.estep@ajc.com.

And make sure to follow reporters @ShaddiAbusaid and @JozsefPapp_ for the latest on the real life case.

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WATER WARS

Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

Down near Statesboro, a group of residents is pushing back on Hyundai’s plans to service its massive electric vehicle plant with four wells drawing as much as 6.6 million gallons of water every day.

Amid worries about the community’s own water supply drying up, the “Stop Hyundai Wells” movement aims to collect enough signatures to trigger referendums on the matter.

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CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY

» The DEA says it seized a literal ton of methamphetamine stashed in a load of celery (!) at the State Farmers Market in Clayton County.

» An Ohio grand jury indicted the man accused of abducting a Hall County girl who went missing for nearly two months.

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COKE CONTROVERSY

It’s kind of a lot to explain succinctly — but overseas backlash is bubbling up against Coca-Cola after a Bangladeshi ad campaign falsely claimed the soft drink maker maintained no ties to Israel.

» More business news: Georgia AG urged to investigate ‘white race favoritism’

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PRESERVING A LEGACY

Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC

More than two decades ago, Brian “Red” Harrison pieced together a few parcels in southeast Atlanta’s Ormewood neighborhood. He then created an urban garden that become a community tradition.

Harrison unexpectedly died a few years ago, but a $2.7 million purchase by the city promises to keep things humming along — with a new park christened “Red’s Farm Preserve.”

“We could have maximized a profit by selling the land to developers and filling it with McMansions or high-density condos,” his sister said, “but we wanted to preserve Brian’s legacy by keeping it green for the community.”

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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

Braves: Chris Sale’s stellar pitching and Travis d’Arnaud’s 10th-inning sac fly fueled a much-needed 1-0 win over the Giants. More good news: Center fielder Michael Harris II is due back Wednesday.
Bulldogs: Georgia football ranked No. 1 in the Preseason AP Poll Top 25. Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and Alabama rounded out the top 5.
High school football: Rome High School canceled this week’s season opener following a rollover bus crash that sent 15 players to the hospital.
Olympics: Gymnast Jordan Chiles isn’t getting her bronze medal back.

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MMM, FOOD

Credit: Courtesy photo

Coming later this year to the Marietta Square: Gianni & Mac’s Ristorante Piazza Nostra, a new concept from local restaurant vets Gianni Betti and Randy McCray.

They’ll serve up dishes inspired by Betti’s roots in Florence, Italy.

» More dining news: The Porter makes a triumphant return in Little Five Points

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MORE TO EXPLORE

» Latto masterfully wields Southern sensibilities on ‘Sugar Honey Iced Tea’

» Ossoff keeps pressure on post office delivery woes

» Dickens questions cost of Beltline rail

» Parts of coastal Georgia still drying out after Debby

» Atlanta law firm loses three attorney groups to rivals

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ON THIS DATE

Aug. 13, 1999

The Mall of Georgia, the state’s largest shopping center, opened in Gwinnett County — and a “crowd of eager shoppers set 4,000 butterflies in flight.”

Which, like … good for them. But why?

Credit: File photo

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: John Spink/AJC

AJC photographer John Spink captured baritone player Urvi Sorte sweating through Day 2 of the Georgia Tech Marching Band’s weeklong camp.

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ONE MORE THING

Bestselling romance author Kennedy Ryan uses her longtime hometown as a muse. “This whole series is a little bit of a love letter to Atlanta,” she said of her “Skyland” trilogy.