Co-defendants of Young Thug acquitted in Georgia’s longest criminal trial

Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial ended Tuesday with not guilty verdicts on all charges except for one for two remaining co-defendants in a sprawling racketeering case that had included rap superstar Young Thug.

The defendants — Deamonte Kendrick, a rapper known as Yak Gotti, and Shannon Stillwell — were both facing multiple charges linked to the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, statute. Among the most serious charges were for the killing of an alleged rival gang member in a 2015 drive-by shooting and conspiracy to violate RICO. Stillwell was also charged with murder in the 2022 killing of another alleged rival gang member.

The 12 jurors began deliberating on Nov. 26, and found Kendrick not guilty and Stillwell not guilty except for one felony firearm charge.

Kendrick had been stabbed Sunday in a Fulton County Jail annex.

The case initially featured 28 co-defendants, including Young Thug, whom Fulton County prosecutors accused in a 2022 indictment of leading an Atlanta street gang, Young Slime Life, or YSL. (Young Thug founded his own label, YSL Records, in 2016.)

The trial against the co-defendants started in January 2023 but dragged on through multiple delays and unexpected turns after several defendants took plea deals while others chose to be tried separately from Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams.

Opening statements began in November 2023 with six co-defendants. The proceedings, which have been livestreamed, have riveted social media users, with prosecutors using the Grammy-winning rapper’s song lyrics to claim violence and illegal acts and bizarre moments involving alleged drug exchanges, uncooperative star witnesses and combative incidents involving the previous judge.

By the end of the trial, the state had called more than 175 witnesses, while the defense for Stillwell and Kendrick called none.

During closing arguments on Nov. 25, Fulton County prosecutors said the defendants took part in a criminal street gang that used weapons on rivals: “They have guns and were not afraid to use them,” Assistant District Attorney Christian Adkins said.

He added that YSL used “deception, intimidation, destruction and death” as members were “bragging and boasting” about their exploits on social media and in songs.

To find the defendants guilty of violating RICO, he added, jurors must determine the men either conspired to acquire or keep money or other personal property or conspired to participate in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering.

Stillwell’s lawyer, Max Schardt, later argued to the jury that the prosecution wove its narrative of a gang conspiracy by “trying so hard to fit that square peg into a round hole.” He also denied his client killed anyone, casting suspicions on others who testified and admitted on the stand they lied to police.

“The state hasn’t proven their case,” he said, “and certainly hasn’t proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Kendrick’s lawyer, Doug Weinstein, ridiculed the state’s claim of gang affiliations among Young Thug and other YSL artists and associates.

“Pictures of YSL wearing green clothing — that must mean they’re a gang,” Weinstein said, telling the jury: “You guys are mostly in blue and black, you associate with each other here today. Are you a gang? The state is all in red today. Are they a gang because they’re all dressed in red?”

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had initially presented the case against Young Thug and his associates — accused of being affiliated with the national Bloods gang — as a way to combat the unrelenting violence in their south Atlanta neighborhood.

Willis, who would later come under scrutiny for her handling of the 2020 election case against Donald Trump and associates, was criticized by some for using the lyrics in Young Thug’s songs and social media posts as evidence to allege gang activity.

Critics contend the state’s RICO law was being weaponized to specifically target Black hip-hop artists, who they say should be free to express themselves.

In July, the state’s case nearly unraveled when the original trial judge was removed after holding a private meeting with prosecutors and a star witness that failed to include members of the defense. Defense lawyers unsuccessfully lobbied for a mistrial.

Then, in October, the trial was nearly upended again when, during testimony, a state’s witness was inadvertently given a social media post to read aloud that included the unredacted nickname of two co-defendants that was meant to be redacted for the jury. The prosecutorial misstep led to the possibility of a mistrial, paving the way for Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker to see if prosecutors and defense lawyers could hash out plea deals.

Four of the six co-defendants reached agreements. Young Thug, in taking a deal, was released from jail with his 40-year sentence commuted to time served and 15 years of probation.

Young Thug first gained mainstream success with his 2014 drug anthem “Stoner,” and has worked with artists such as Travis Scott, Post Malone, Meek Mill and Drake. He also racked up three No. 1 albums on the Billboard chart and won a Grammy Award in 2019 for song of the year for co-writing Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.”

Georgia’s previous longest criminal trial lasted about eight months and involved Atlanta public school educators accused of racketeering in a cheating scandal.