Young Thug changes his plea to guilty in Georgia's longest-running criminal trial

Atlanta rap star Young Thug agreed to change his plea to guilty Thursday in Georgia's longest-running criminal trial, a stunning twist that, if approved by the judge, would bring closure to his high-profile case.

The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, appeared to be on the verge of changing his plea deal but failed after Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker asked if he agreed to a non-negotiated plea deal. This means that the prosecution and defense were unable to reach an agreement on the sentence and that the judge still ultimately decides the sentence.

The parties returned after a short break. The agreement comes after three of Young Thug's co-defendants reached plea agreements this week amid growing speculation that Whitaker might order a jury trial.

Young Thug, 33, was indicted in 2022 for leading an alleged street gang called Young Slime Life (YSL), whose members have alleged illegal and violent acts including murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking and car theft.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis used Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute to claim that Young Thug and his associates were a street gang with ties to the nationwide Bloods gang.

The public prosecutor's office initially named 27 co-defendants. Young Thug's trial began with jury selection in January 2023, and when opening arguments began in November, he was one of six co-defendants, after months of delays caused by some defendants taking plea deals and others choosing to to be tried separately.

Whitaker approved plea deals this week for three of them: Quamarvious Nichols, 29; Marquavius ​​Huey, 28; and Rodalius Ryan, 18.

Multiple charges of extortion and gang violence have been brought against the men, each of which could carry prison sentences of five to 20 years. Because they all agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering — and Huey also pleaded guilty to other reduced charges — they accepted more lenient sentences of probation and time served. However, Ryan remains in prison with a life sentence for a 2019 murder, but his 10-year sentence in the RICO case was commuted to time served.

It was not immediately clear whether the other two remaining co-defendants, Deamonte Kendrick and Shannon Stillwell, will have ongoing negotiations with prosecutors about similar plea agreements or continue the trial.

But given Young Thug's apparent agreement, his role in the prosecution's long-running case ends after nearly two years of a drawn-out, livestreamed trial that captivated court watchers. The original judge was removed from the trial in July after allegations of misconduct were raised by the defense and there were heated arguments in the courtroom between various parties and a variety of bizarre moments, including a deputy allegedly smuggling contraband to a defendant and someone who Hacked the court's Zoom to shout “Free villain!” have interrupted the sluggish proceedings.

The judge had previously said the trial could potentially drag on into next year because prosecutors had not yet finished presenting their case.

But the latest and most significant twist was the result of a prosecutorial misstep during testimony last week.

When state witness Wunnie Lee, a rapper known as Slimelife Shawty, was reviewing social media posts in front of the jury, he was accidentally leaked an unredacted version of a post that referenced the hashtag #freequa, which may apply to nicknames of Nichols or Huey . The article was edited for the jury.

However, by Lee referring to Qua, prosecutors led the jury to assume that the co-defendants were in prison, a detail that should not be shared because it is considered prejudicial.

“We're not going to be able to ring that bell, your honor,” Nicole Westmoreland, an attorney for Nichols, called for a mistrial.

Whitaker had suggested she would consider a mistrial motion. During that time, prosecutors and defense attorneys spent days negotiating plea deals.

Young Thug first achieved mainstream success with his 2014 drug anthem “Stoner.” He founded his own music label YSL Records in 2016 and has released three No. 1 albums on the Billboard charts in collaboration with artists such as Travis Scott, Post Malone, Meek Mill and Drake. In 2019, he won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for co-writing “This Is America” ​​by Childish Gambino.

He has been in prison since his arrest in May 2022.

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