YSL Trial: Yak Gotti found not guilty, Shannon Stillwell found guilty on only 1 charge

ATLANTA — A Fulton County jury has reached a verdict for two defendants who did not take plea deals in the Young Slime Life trial.

The jury found Deamonte Kendrick, who raps as Yak Gotti, not guilty on all charges. The jury found Shannon Stillwell guilty on only one charge for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Stillwell was sentenced to the 10-year maximum with credit for the two years he already served. The balance will be served on probation.

The jury received the case last week and finished their deliberations on Tuesday.

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The trial was the longest criminal trial in Georgia history. It took 10 months alone just to select the jury and testimony didn’t begin until a year ago in Nov. 2023. There was also a delay when Stillwell was stabbed inside the Fulton County Jail.

Prosecutors claim that YSL members have committed violent crimes across Atlanta. They accused Stillwell and Kendrick of killing Donovan Thomas Jr., also known as “Big Nut,” in drive-by shooting because he was in a rival gang.

Prosecutors have argued that tattoos, social media postings and other evidence supports their claims that YSL is a gang. The defense said that’s not true and argued that Kendrick and Stillwell are part of a record label and not a gang.

The YSL case began initially as an indictment that charged 28 people, including rapper Young Thug, with conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Young Thug pleaded guilty as part of a non-negotiated plea last month.

Nine other defendants people took plea deals before the trial began, including rapper Gunna. Several defendants had their cases severed and their cases are still pending.