YSL RICO jury returns to hear testimony after 2 remaining co-defendants refused plea offers

ATLANTA — The jury in the YSL RICO trial returned on Monday for the first time since rapper Young Thug was released from jail.

Two defendants now remain on trial in the case.

Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick rejected the state’s plea offers last week.

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For the first time in nearly two weeks, the jury heard testimony in the YSL RICO gang case.

It’s the longest-running criminal trial in Georgia’s history.

Before testimony resumed, Fulton County Superior Judge Paige Reese Whitaker acknowledged the “elephant in the room.”

“Members of the jury, you will notice that certain of the co-defendants are no longer before you for reasons that do not concern you,” she said. “The prosecution of those co-defendants is no longer a part of this trial.”

Last week, four of the six defendants standing trial resolved their cases by pleading guilty to multiple charges.

The most notable defendant was Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams.

Judge Whitaker accepted his blind plea and sentenced him to time served and 15 years of probation.

Attorneys for Stillwell and his co-defendant, Kendrick, who raps under the name Yak Gotti, rejected the state’s plea offers and plan to keep fighting and take this case to the jury.

Jurors heard testimony from an Atlanta rapper who performed with the defendants, as well as testimony from the medical examiner, and a police detective.

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