Two more of Young Thug's co-defendants are taking plea deals in the long-running Atlanta racketeering case against the rapper's alleged YSL gang, leaving Thug to stand trial with just two other defendants.
A week after the improper testimony of a state's witness threw the trial into chaos and sparked talk of a miscarriage of justice, prosecutors and defense attorneys continued to show a willingness on Wednesday (Oct. 30) to strike deals rather than risk starting the massive trial all over again .
At the hearing, Marquavius ”Qua” Huey pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, robbery and several other charges, with prosecutors agreeing to drop a number of others. Under the deal, Huey was sentenced to 25 years, but with only nine to be served in prison – a sharp reduction from the life sentences he would have faced if convicted of all charges.
Another defendant, Rodalius “Lil Rod” Ryan, pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years, which was commuted to time served, as he is already serving a life sentence for a 2019 murder.
The two new pleas came a day after Quamarvious Nichols agreed to plead guilty to a single racketeering charge in exchange for prosecutors dropping all other charges against him, including murder and illegal possession of firearms. Under the deal, Nichols was sentenced to 20 years, but will serve only seven in prison and the rest on probation.
The flurry of deals follows an incident last week in which a government witness accidentally disclosed sensitive information to a jury, prompting defense attorneys to demand a mistrial. Judge Paige Reese Whittaker, who accused prosecutors of “sloppiness” and has repeatedly criticized the handling of the case, said she would consider such a decision.
Since then, testimony has stalled as prosecutors and defense attorneys negotiated plea deals behind closed doors. Both sides appear willing to consider a compromise rather than a costly retrial, which spanned 10 months of jury selection and 11 months of testimony to make it the largest in state history.
Whether Thug himself, a Grammy-winning superstar who prosecutors allege was the leader of the gang, will also take such a deal remains to be seen. The trial is scheduled to resume on Thursday (October 31) morning.
Thug was indicted in May 2022 along with dozens of others over allegations that his group “YSL” was not actually a record label called “Young Stoner Life,” but rather a violent Atlanta gang called “Young Slime Life.” The case, based on Georgia's Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), alleges the group committed murders, carjackings, armed robberies, drug trafficking and other crimes over a decade.
The pleas made on Tuesday (October 29) and Wednesday mean Thug (Jeffery Williams) now faces the remainder of the trial with just two other defendants, Deamonte “Yak Gotti” Kendrick and Shannon Stillwell. Kendrick and Stilwell are accused of killing rival gang leader Donovan Thomas in 2015, a crime that figures prominently in the prosecution's case.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/young-thug-ysl-rico-trial-two-more-co-defendants-plea-deals/
