Young Thug sentenced in YSL RICO trial after pleading guilty

ATLANTA — Hip-hop superstar and rapper Young Thug pled guilty as part of a non-negotiated plea in the YSL RICO case.

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The rapper, whose name is Jeffery Williams, has been in jail since 2022 for a sprawling Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act indictment in Fulton County.

Channel 2 Action News was at the Fulton County courthouse Thursday as the judge read Williams’ sentence in what’s become the longest trial in Georgia history.

Williams has been behind bars since May of 2022.

Williams changed his plea to guilty on gang-related charges. This is a non-negotiated plea, which means the final decision on sentencing was up to the judge.

Judge Paige Reese Whitaker issued the sentence. She gave him 40 years to serve five years in prison but commuted to time served.

He will then spend 15 years on probation but with the threat of 20 years in prison if he fails at probation.

Along with that, Young Thug is essentially banned from the city of Atlanta, unless he’s here for things like family weddings or funerals.

The judge is also requiring that while on probation, he returns to Atlanta to perform community service, in the form of anti-gang seminars for school-aged children.

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis spoke to Channel 2′s Mark Winne after Williams took his plea deal, saying that there were 28 defendants indicted in the YSL case. Fourteen of those defendants still have pending charges if Young Thug’s plea is finalized so the case is ongoing and “we’re not done.”

Young Thug’s girlfriend, Mariah the Scientist, issued the following statement to Channel 2′s Michael Seiden:

“Thank you God, thank you God. This is more than what we prayed for. We are so grateful, this is the greatest opportunity we’ve ever been presented with and we are so grateful. Thank you Judge Paige Whitaker for giving us the opportunity to move forward with our life! Thank you God. Thank you Brian Steel and Keith Adams and every attorney working on this case, tireless. THANK YOU! I cannot say it enough, I cannot repay you for this. You have changed our lives, Jeffery’s life and mine. Thank you to everyone who has been there for us, every fan, who believed in us and prayed for us.”

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On Thursday, a defendant in the YSL RICO trial rejected a plea offer and will face a jury trial.

According to Douglas Weinstein, attorney for Deamonte Kendrick, a.k.a. Yak Gotti, “Yak Gotti has rejected the State’s latest plea offer and fully intends to take this to the jury and get our not guilty verdicts and go home.”

Two other defendants have accepted plea deals this week.

On Tuesday, Quamarvious Nichols agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Nichols was sentenced to 20 years to serve seven in custody.

The following day, Rodalius Ryan accepted a plea deal, also being charged with violating the RICO Act.

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