Young Thug’s lengthy gang and racketeering trial is set to resume Tuesday morning following days of negotiations over possible plea deals.
It’s unclear whether any of the six defendants intend to plead guilty, but some defense attorneys confirmed meeting with members of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office late last week.
Meanwhile, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker is mulling another motion for a mistrial. She halted court Wednesday afternoon and admonished the prosecution after a witness read aloud from an exhibit that should have been redacted.
“What I’m trying to do is fix your sloppiness so that everyone won’t have wasted, you know, 10, 12 months of their lives in this trial,” Whitaker scolded prosecutors.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Jury selection began in January 2023 and the trial is the longest in Georgia history.
Whitaker also criticized the state’s presentation of evidence and indicated she would consider granting a mistrial without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could retry the case.
“I am sorry y’all have, you know, this gigantic, ginormous universe of evidence that maybe if you narrowed down, you would not be making these kind of mistakes,” the judge said.
Prosecutors have said they hope to call dozens more witness before resting their case.
Wednesday’s witness, former defendant Wunnie Lee, had been asked to read from an Instagram post that initially included the hashtag “#FreeQua.” That tag was removed from an image shown to jurors, but it was printed on a handout given to Lee by the state.
“I wasn’t looking at the screen,” said Lee, an Atlanta rapper who performs under the name SlimeLife Shawty. “I was looking at this paper.”
Two of the defendants standing trial, Marquavius Huey and Quamarvious Nichols, go by the nickname “Qua.” Attorneys for both men argued the evidence was prejudicial because it implied their clients were locked up. They also accused the prosecution of failing to prepare their witness.
“We’re not going to be able to unring this bell,” Nichols’ attorney, Nicole Westmoreland said.
The error came days after Whitaker barred a former Atlanta police detective from returning to the stand after he said in front of the jury that another defendant, Deamonte Kendrick, had been in prison.
Prosecutors asked the judge to reconsider that decision, but Whitaker refused to change her mind.
“The detective absolutely knew better than to have said what he said and did it anyway,” she said.
Attorneys are expected to argue motions today, meaning the jury likely won’t return until Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is the leader of Young Slime Life, which they contend is an Atlanta-based gang responsible for a spate of robberies, shootings and several murders. Defense attorneys maintain their clients are innocent and say YSL is just the name of the Grammy winner’s record label.
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