The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office spent at least a month surveilling a potential juror in the high-profile “Young Slime Life” gang case.
Now prosecutors want him dismissed from the trial after determining he spends most nights at his Cobb County apartment, while some defense attorneys were shocked to learn the DA’s office used taxpayer resources to stake out the juror and track his movements.
During questioning, the juror said he votes in Fulton and lists his mother’s home as his permanent residence. He acknowledged in August that he also rents an Austell apartment, but told prosecutor Adriane Love that he spends about four nights a week at his mother’s home, where he grew up.
He was ultimately qualified as a potential juror in the sprawling gang and racketeering case against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and others, over the objections of the state. Jury selection in the slow-moving trial began in January and has lasted more than nine months.
In a motion filed Monday, prosecutors said they spent weeks conducting “surveillance” on the potential juror, and used license plate readers to find out where he stayed.
“Surveillance conducted by the State confirms that Juror B has spent the night at his Cobb County residence for 28 out of the past 30 nights,” they wrote. “Additionally, license plate readers have placed Juror B in Cobb County more than 300 times between Aug. 11, 2023 and Oct. 3, 2023. The LPRs further show that when Juror B does enter Fulton County, he goes nowhere near his mother’s residence.”
License plate readers near his mother’s home, they said, returned “zero hits” on the juror’s vehicle between Sept. 3 and Oct. 3.
“On the 15th and 25th days of surveillance, Juror B’s car was not at his Cobb County residence, but neither was it detected by license plate readers anywhere near his mother’s residence,” they wrote.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Some on the defense said they found the monitoring unethical and said it could dissuade people from showing up for jury duty in the future.
“I think it is improper,” said Suri Chadha Jimenez, who sat through more than eight months of jury selection before the state dropped the charges against his client. “It’s not right to do this to citizens who are not criminals. They’re surveilling people who are doing their civic duty by showing up to jury service. He did nothing wrong.”
In a statement, the Fulton DA’s office defended its actions, saying that any guilty verdicts returned in the trial would automatically be overturned on appeal if it’s determined a juror serving on the case lived outside the county.
“As is permitted by law, we review public records of jurors to ensure they are eligible to serve on a jury, particularly in major cases,” a spokesman said. “Our review of this juror’s public information indicates that he lives in Cobb County, making it illegal for him to serve on a Fulton County jury. A further review confirmed he is ineligible. At no time did anyone from the DA’s office have contact with the juror.”
During questioning in August, the juror said he spent time overseas in “the service” and got out about two years ago. Though he has the apartment in Austell, the man said he considers Fulton County home because he’s lived there for 25 years and helps his mother pay off the house.
“That’s where I grew up. That’s where I’m at a lot,” he said, noting he gets his business mail sent to the Cobb apartment but picks up personal mail at his mom’s.
He also said he might be uncomfortable serving as a juror in the high-profile case because he enjoys Young Thug’s music.
“I listen to his music a lot,” the man said. “I’d just be biased, probably.”
The juror acknowledged that he’s had his own run-ins with the law, saying, “I’ve been in the courtroom a lot of times, too, as well and I know the feeling.”
Chief Judge Ural Glanville told the man that everybody comes to court with some biases and asked if he would be able to set his opinions aside and consider the facts of the case.
The juror eventually said, “I think I could be fair.”
When he left the courtroom, a heated discussion ensued about where he lives and whether he’s eligible to serve as a Fulton juror. Glanville qualified the man over the prosecution’s objections, noting that plenty of people have multiple residences but can only claim one as their permanent address.
The judge has yet to rule on the state’s motion.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
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