ATLANTA — Bond was denied for Atlanta rapper Gunna in a Fulton County courtroom on Thursday, as he attempted, once again, to get out of jail ahead of his trial.
The music artist, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, was one of dozens indicted on Rico charges earlier this year.
He has been in the Fulton County Jail since his arrest in May.
Kitchens is among over two dozen people, including fellow rapper Young Thug, indicted in the Fulton County RICO case involving ties to Young Slime Life. Prosecutors allege YSL is a gang behind several crimes in the Atlanta area.
Kitchens' attorney, Steve Sadow, filed the new bond motion in September. At the time he argued there was not enough sufficient evidence to warrant keeping Kitchens in custody. He also argued Kitchens should be released because his name was removed from some of the more serious crimes in the indictment.
During Thursday's proceedings, the prosecution stated potential witness intimidation as a reason to deny the rapper bond.
"One of the other co-defendants asked that the defendant Kitchens be made aware that he would be willing to wack somebody for him," the prosecution said.
Don Samuel, one of the attornies representing kitchens, rebutted this claim saying it would not be enough to justify denying his client bond.
"I mean I suppose I could say I would do anything for my good friend Brian Steel, I would do anything for him," he told Judge Ural Glanville.
Glanville denied bond stating he still had the "same concerns that had not been otherwise alleviated."
Review of Gunna's case
- Gunna's charges are not as extensive as Young Thug's: He officially only faces one count of conspiracy to violate RICO - essentially, being a gang member. The sprawling 88-page indictment only mentions Gunna - legal name Sergio Kitchens - a few times, most of them using his social media posts or song lyrics as evidence of gang membership.
- His more concrete allegations include Theft by receiving stolen property (a gun), possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of hydrocodone with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. These are alleged acts "of racketeering activity, and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy" and qualify him for the felony offense of "participation in criminal street gang activity."
- One other allegation: He is alleged to have been involved in a traffic stop incident with Young Thug in 2018, in which two cars were stopped, and four individuals in one of the cars were "armed with numerous weapons with high capacity magazines to include an AK-47 with a 30-round magazine."
The RICO case is set to go to trial sometime in January of 2023.