FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A man who admitted to being a co-founder of Young Slime Life took the stand in the Fulton County trial against the alleged gang on Wednesday.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden has been in the courtroom for much of the testimony, which resumed this week after a break over the holidays.
Trontavious Stephens, 30, testified as part of a negotiated plea deal he took with prosecutors in 2022.
When Stephens, also known as Tick or Slug, entered the courtroom, Seiden said the energy shifted. He stared straight ahead without making eye contact with any of his former co-defendants.
Seiden says that for the first time, each of the defendants seemed engaged while listening to his testimony.
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Prosecutors showed jurors photos of Stephens’ tattoos, which they claim show that YSL is a subset of the national Bloods gang.
“The first gang I was involved in was R.O.C. crew,” he testified.
R.O.C. is an acronym for “Raised on Cleveland,” which is a reference to Atlanta’s Cleveland Avenue neighborhood.
The states says that rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was an original member of the R.O.C. crew, which was a precursor to YSL.
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When it came to identifying members of the R.O.C. crew, Stephens did not make it easy on prosecutors.
“Please tell the jury other members of R.O.C. crew who were members during the time you were a member,” a prosecutor said to Stephens.
“So you want me to name everybody, like everybody I grew up with basically?” Stephens replied.
“Do you remember the people who were members of R.O.C. crew while you were a member of R.O.C. crew?” the prosecutor questioned.
“I mean, that was 10, 11 years ago,” he said.
“You’re not answering my question,” the prosecutor said.
“I can try,” Stephens replied.
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When asked about the founding members of YSL, he was much more forthcoming.
“Who were the other founding members?” prosecutors questioned.
“Walter Murphy and Jeffery Williams,” he replied.
Stephens testified that the three of them started YSL because they were all pursuing music.
“The R.O.C. crew gang was known for like committing crimes and being gang. We was trying to take a different approach; we had a passion for music,” he explained.
Jurors were sent home early because one of them was not feeling well. Stephens will continue his testimony on Thursday morning.
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