After nearly a year’s worth of testimony from more than 175 witnesses, Fulton County prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in a gang and racketeering trial that has become the longest in Georgia history.
Missing was the trial’s star defendant; Atlanta rapper Young Thug, one of four members of “Young Slime Life” who pleaded guilty during the lengthy trial. The two remaining defendants, Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick, rejected plea offers after more than a week of negotiations. Both face murder and other charges.
Neither Stillwell nor Kendrick will present evidence, their lawyers said, and they declined to testify in their defense.
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Credit: undefined
Prosecutors alleged Young Thug was the leader of a street gang known as “Young Slime Life,” which was responsible for a spate of robberies and shootings, some of which were fatal. Defense attorneys maintain YSL is a record label.
In her opening statement last November, Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love described the alleged gang as a “pack.” And she said Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was the lead wolf.
But Williams is out on probation after pleading guilty Halloween. In addition to 15 years of probation, he was banished from metro Atlanta for the next decade.
Three others also pleaded guilty last month.
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
Jury selection in the case began nearly two years ago. Since then, it has been roiled by courtroom theatrics, delays and even a judge’s ouster.
For most of the state’s case, Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville presided over proceedings. Court routinely started late and the state’s presentation was marred by lengthy delays and Glanville’s ultimate removal from the case.
Glanville was removed in July over his handling of a recusal motion stemming from a secret meeting he held with prosecutors and a state’s witness in his office.
The pace of the trial accelerated when Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took over. The former prosecutor took a much sterner tone with the state, regularly ruling against the prosecution and criticizing their presentation of evidence. In a rare move, she assigned prosecutors to watch a remedial training when it was revealed they had to turn over some of their evidence months into the sprawling case.
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Love, who had been lead prosecutor on the case examining witnesses and arguing motions since October 2022, appears to have taken a backseat in recent weeks, with other prosecutors questioning witnesses and arguing over evidence.
Love did argue for Young Thug to receive a jail sentence during his plea hearing but hasn’t been heard from since then.
Some of the jurors have also expressed frustration about the trial’s pace. One recently asked to be removed from the case arguing that the length of the trial might have made him biased against the state.
Of the state’s 177 witnesses, most were members of the Atlanta Police Department, which investigated the alleged crimes tied to YSL members over more than a decade. Other witnesses included associates like Kenneth Copeland and former co-defendant Antonio Sledge, who spent days on the stand testifying.
Others spent just a couple of minutes or few hours testifying, though the state recalled a number of its witnesses throughout while presenting some of the “overt acts” allegedly committed in furtherance of the gang.
By contrast, attorneys for Stillwell and Kendrick are expected to present their case quickly. Weinstein has said he does not plan to call any witnesses. If convicted of all their charges, both Stillwell and Kendrick face life in prison, plus additional time. Jurors could begin deliberating by the end of the week.
