ATLANTA — A sixth defendant charged in the sweeping gang indictment involving rapper Young Thug entered a negotiated guilty plea on Thursday.
Antonio Sumlin, 32, who is also known as “Obama,” pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt organizations act, two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and participation in criminal street gang activity.
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As part of his negotiated plea, Sumlin was sentenced to 15 years of probation.
Sumlin is among six defendants who have pleaded guilty ahead of next month’s trial. The initial indictment charged 28 defendants, including rappers Young Thug and Gunna, who entered a negotiated Alford plea earlier this month.
Channel 2 was also in the courtroom as defense attorneys and prosecutors squared off, taking turns questioning DeKalb County jail investigator Quinton Hall on his qualifications as a gang expert.
“He might not be great at math but he’s sure great at gangs your honor,” argued Fulton County prosecutor Lizzie Rosenwasser. “He knows what he’s talking about.”
“The testimony shows that he just doesn’t meet the qualifications,” responded defense attorney Suri Chadha Jimenez.
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Hall testified that he had interviewed or identified more than 50 gang members in the DeKalb County jail and listened to more than 1,000 hours of recorded jail phone calls.
But defense attorney Suri Chadha Jimenez, who is representing co-defendant Cordaris Dorsey, questioned Hall’s qualifications.
The judge sided with the defense and did not qualify him as an expert.
“At this point, I’m not going to qualify him as an expert,” explained Judge Ural Glanville. “,I’ll revisit that should the state repackage his particular or he testifies more succinctly. I’m not satisfied as to now. "
As of Thursday evening, 23 defendants remained charged in the case.
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