Another defendant has been severed from the lengthy “Young Slime Life” trial involving Atlanta rapper Young Thug and a number of alleged associates.
Defendant Damone Blalock was severed from the trial Monday after falling ill ahead of court, his attorney Justin Hill told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hill said both he and his client wished to remain in the trial and that even prosecutors objected to the severance. Hill even offered to waive his client’s appearance for the day and stand in for him, but the judge decided it would be best to separate Blalock’s case completely.
That brings the number of defendants set to stand trial together to nine. Two defendants with pregnant attorneys were recently severed from the trial so their lawyers could take maternity leave. And another defendant, Jayden Myrick, was severed from the trial last week after undergoing a mental health evaluation and admitting to the judge that he hadn’t taken his medication in months.
Last month, Miles Farley’s case was severed after his attorney was arrested for allegedly entering the courtroom with some of his prescription medication outside its original container.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” said Hill, who spent the past five months sitting through jury selection in the sprawling gang trial. “It was kind of a like family. I learned a lot. I enjoyed fighting for my client and fighting for the team as a whole.”
On the bright side, the 27-year-old attorney said the severance would give him more time to focus on his other clients and grow his private practice.
“This is a long trial, and I’m trying to run a business at the same time,” Hill told the AJC. “It was becoming taxing on me and my business.”
Blalock is currently serving a life in prison sentence for the 2019 murder of Jamari Holmes. He is facing one charge of conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO act in the YSL case. Blalock is also one of three defendants accused of stabbing a fellow inmate at the Fulton County jail back in January.
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is accused of being the co-founder and leader of Young Slime Life. Prosecutors say the group is a southwest Atlanta street gang responsible for much of Atlanta’s violent crime.
Williams was taken to the hospital two days in a row last week, causing the judge to suspend court proceedings on Thursday and Friday.
Hill noted that because Young Thug is the target of the state’s case, he seems to be getting a little more leeway from the judge.
“He could probably miss a month and they won’t sever him,” Blalock said.
