YSL trial: Multiple defendants discussing plea deals with DA’s office, sources say

ATLANTA — A Fulton County judge will hear arguments for a mistrial in the Young Slime Life trial after a “mistake” was made by the prosecution.

Meanwhile, multiple sources tell Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that several defendants have met with the district attorney’s office to discuss plea deals.

The sources say the defense attorneys representing the YSL defendants met on Wednesday night with Fulton DA Fani Willis. On Thursday morning, the defense attorneys met individually with Willis, according to sources.

So far, none of the remaining defendants have accepted a plea deal and details remain confidential.

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The RICO charges trial against Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, is already the longest trial in Georgia state history.

There have been several motions for mistrials and another was made on Wednesday afternoon.

An attorney for one of the defendants’ attorneys called for a motion for a mistrial with prejudice after a witness read an unredacted copy of a social media post entered into evidence. The attorney accused the DA’s Office of goading them into a mistrial.

Judge Paige Reese Whitaker said she believe the prosecution made a mistake. She denied the mistrial for prejudice, but will hear the motion for a mistrial without prejudice.

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Whitaker though told the prosecution it needs to handle the evidence more carefully.

“I am sorry y’all have, you know, this gigantic, ginormous universe of evidence that maybe if you narrowed down, would not be making these kind of mistakes,” she said. “What I’m trying to is fix your sloppiness so that everyone hasn’t wasted 10 to 12 months on this trial.”

Trial attorney Amanda Clark Palmer does not represent any of the defendants standing trial, but has worked several high-profiles cases and has been keeping her eye on the YSL trial. She says this is the state’s fault.

“It’s the state’s fault. State’s fault for not preparing their witness and saying, ‘Hey, by the way, here’s something you’re not supposed to mention,’” Clark Palmer said. “You’re not supposed to let the jury know about somebody’s prior criminal history, somebody being incarcerated.”

If a mistrial without prejudice is declared, the state would have the option to retry.

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