ATLANTA — Court is back in session for members of Young Slime Life (also known as YSL) accused of gang activity in a RICO case.
A hearing began closer to 2 p.m. Thursday for the high profile case after the hearing was re-scheduled and moved following technical difficulties. It was initially supposed to begin at 9 a.m. Among those in attendance will be rapper Young Thug, who is among those charged.
The court hearing comes less than 24 hours after another Atlanta rapper, Gunna, entered a plea deal and walked out of the Fulton County Jail free.
He will also not have to testify against any of the others charged in the RICO indictment.
On Thursday, there was a motion by the defense attorney for Young Thug to dismiss his case altogether, but the judge denied that motion just after 6 p.m.
In the hearing, the judge was weighing whether to admit certain evidence in the upcoming trial for Young Thug in January. The prosecution argued that the court did not find that the entry to his home was unlawful in which they seized evidence in a warrant pertaining to Young Thug, which included a cell phone that supposedly contained evidence pertaining to this case.
The defense, however, chimed back saying that the entry into Young Thug's home was unlawful, meaning that everything that was seized inside the home should not have been taken, should have been suppressed and promptly returned to him.
Young Thug - whose legal name is Jeffery Williams - got some good news Thursday as the judge ruled the cell phone will not be admissible for evidence in his upcoming trial.
As for that trial, it will take some time. With more than 25 defendants in the case, attorney's told 11Alive's Joe Ripley they estimated this trial could take closer to a year to resolve.
Gunna was charged with one count of racketeering as part of that massive indictment. Essentially, he was accused of dealing drugs and stolen merchandise with other gang members.
By comparison, Young Thug was indicted on eight counts.
Gunna pleaded guilty to that one charge but it was an Alford plea, meaning he didn't admit to doing anything wrong, even though he pled guilty to the charge.
Darryl Cohen, an Atlanta attorney 11Alive spoke to, who isn't part of the case, said prosecutors likely wanted Gunna out of the way as they focus on trying to convict the others.
Jury selection in the trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5.
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