On January 11, 2015, Kenneth Copeland turned up at Atlanta Police Department headquarters.
The night before, Donovan Thomas Jr. had been shot and killed outside the A&M Barber Shop in Southwest Atlanta, Two others — including a 14-year-old — were injured. The gunmen used a rifle and at least one handgun and fired from the sunroof of a passing car, authorities said.
When Copeland arrived at their doorstep hours later, police said he shared his whereabouts at the time of the shooting and said his family was being targeted by people who thought he was responsible for killing Thomas, also known as “Big Nut.”
In the weeks and months to come, Copeland sat down for six recorded interviews with police. In the process, he gave authorities a look at the inner workings of Young Slime Life, which prosecutors allege is an Atlanta-based street gang led by Grammy-winning Atlanta rap artist Young Thug. Authorities say YSL is responsible for Thomas’ death, and that Young Thug later rapped about the killing.
Information Copeland provided to authorities helped Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis indict Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and 27 others on racketeering and gang charges in the spring of 2022.
But as the state’s central witness, Copeland, who also goes by the name Lil’ Woody, could now help make or break the prosecution’s case. His reluctance to testify has snowballed, resulting in a legal fight that has stalled the case and could end in a mistrial.
Pleading the fifth
Copeland’s flippant first exchange on the stand last month set the tone for his testimony, making him somewhat of an internet sensation among fans and followers of the sprawling gang case.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
“How old are you?” Deputy District Attorney Simone Hylton asked him after he was sworn in.
“Grown,” Copeland replied.
“What does grown mean?” Hylton asked.
“I’m an adult,” Copeland said.
“When you say you are an adult, what number in years are you?” Hylton tried to ask Copeland.
Copeland responded by pleading the Fifth Amendment, despite being offered immunity in exchange for his testimony at trial. As a result, he was held in contempt and jailed for the weekend.
In his seven days on the stand, Copeland made it clear that he didn’t want to be in court, regularly spinning around in the witness chair, putting his head on the desk and making funny expressions in front of the jury. He testified at one point that he lied to the police in earlier interviews, telling them whatever he thought they wanted to hear in an effort to keep himself out of trouble.
“I know I ain’t complete school but I think I’m speaking proper English. I told you, I don’t recall nothing I said to no police, you keep sitting right here asking me the same question over and over,” Copeland testified at one point.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Secret meeting
On June 10, prosecutors met with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville and Copeland’s attorney to discuss his testimony. Defense attorneys were irate when they learned of the meeting and Glanville was ultimately removed from overseeing the trial.
Judge Paige Reese Whitaker, who is now presiding over the case, said they will “start from scratch” with Copeland’s testimony instead of redoing the portions starting June 12, which was when a defense attorney sought the previous judge’s recusal.
Defense attorneys have argued that Copeland was coerced by Glanville and prosecutors during the June 10 meeting, but Whitaker expressed qualms that Copeland would be truthful if asked whether his testimony was coerced.
“I’m not sure about Mr. Copeland’s credibility on anything,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker clarified to Copeland that, if he refused to testify, he can be held in contempt and be placed in custody until the conclusion of the current trial. The judge did not have a timetable to give Copeland about how long that might be.
Asked if he planed to testify once the jury returns, Copeland said it would depend on how he woke up that morning.
‘Help me please’
Copeland became a central figure in the high-profile trial well before a jury was ever seated when video of his four-hour interview with investigators was leaked online.
He had already been talking to police for years about the alleged gang when that interview took place in October 2021. Copeland, who had already been convicted on federal gun charges in 2018, was being detained on a gun charge
Handcuffed in an interrogation room, Copeland provided the police with information about their yearslong investigation into YSL in exchange for leniency on the new gun allegations.
“How could I help y’all help me, please?” Copeland can be heard telling investigators.
The leaked interrogation video prompted calls for a mistrial and raised concerns about the safety of witnesses called to testify in the case.
Prosecutors pointed to social media comments that referred to Copeland “as a ‘rat’ and a ‘snitch’ whose death is warranted or even a forgone conclusion.”
But instead of going underground, Copeland has amassed a relatively large following on social media where he posts photos and videos of himself shopping, washing vehicles or relaxing at the pool on his days off.
Copeland’s demeanor on the stand and apparent reluctance to answer any of the prosecutions’ questions at length has endeared him to many of Young Thug’s supporters and the thousands of people who tune in to watch the case online.
He’s also available for bookings, according to his Instagram page.
