After nearly three years behind bars, an Atlanta rapper who was acquitted during his lengthy Fulton County gang and racketeering trial is finally going home.
Deamonte Kendrick, who performs under the stage name Yak Gotti, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single count of aggravated battery stemming from a fight last year at the Rice Street jail.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss all of his remaining charges in exchange for the lone guilty plea, and Judge Paige Reese Whitaker wished Kendrick good luck on his upcoming album after sentencing him to probation.
“I’m ready to go home, bro,” Kendrick told Fulton prosecutor Adam Abbate when asked whether he was guilty.
“Yes or no?” Abbate said. “‘Yes’ gets you home.”
Kendrick’s attorney, Bruce Harvey, said his client has a 10-year-old daughter he finally gets to see.
“He went through that grueling trial, and he was finally acquitted,” Harvey said outside the courtroom. “It’s time to let him out so he can see his family and be a productive member of the community.”
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid/ shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
Credit: Shaddi Abusaid/ shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
Kendrick hugged both of his attorneys before leaving the courtroom. Then he put his hands over his heart and smiled at his mother as he walked out. Tasha Kendrick, who has been waiting years for her son’s release, clenched her fists and raised both arms above her head.
In exchange for his guilty plea, Kendrick was sentenced to 12 years, with nine months to serve and credit for the time he has already spent in jail. The balance of his sentence will be spent on probation, Whitaker told him.
After two years of probation with no violations, Kendrick will be placed on non-reporting status for three years, she said. After that, the remainder of his sentence will be suspended.
Kendrick was the only defendant in the nearly two-year long “Young Slime Life” trial not to accept a plea deal or get convicted of a single charge. Prosecutors seemed stunned months ago when a jury returned not-guilty verdicts on each count he faced, including murder.
The trial, the longest in Georgia history, centered on Grammy-winning musician Young Thug, who prosecutors alleged was the co-founder and leader of an Atlanta street gang.
The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, ended up taking a nonnegotiated plea deal and getting probation in the case. But several jurors said after the trial they did not think there was enough evidence to convict him.
Defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said she was thrilled Kendrick finally gets to go home after sitting through the “long and brutal” YSL trial.
“Imagine going to court every day for 2.5 years, fighting for your freedom and then having to leave and go to your jail cell,” she said. “And hoping you make it back to court the next morning.”
Kendrick was stabbed by another inmate last year while awaiting a verdict in the case.
“At the end of the day Mr. Kendrick was found not guilty of all the charges, but he still had to sit in a jail cell day and night,” Westmoreland said. “We’re happy it’s over, and he’s happy it’s over so he gets a chance to move on with his life.”
Kendrick was taken back to the Fulton County jail and was set to be released from there, his attorneys said.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
