ATLANTA — There are questions about what will happen next for a key witness in the YSL trial and whether he violated his plea agreement on the stand.
Antonio Sledge, a.k.a. Mounk Tounk, spent a week testifying in the YSL RICO trial. Sledge was initially a co-defendant in this case, but took a plea deal back in 2022 as the case began.
That made him a key witness for the state. But his testimony over the last week — and testimony coming from his attorney subpoenaed afterward — may have put his plea agreement in murky waters.
As part of the original plea, Sledge acknowledged 16 statements of fact that would be used against others in the case when he testified. But during his time on the stand last week, Sledge walked back most of those statements.
Then on the stand this week, his attorney said that despite the fact that they signed the plea agreement, there was a part of the deal they did not agree with and that should have been removed — but it was not.
That was statement No. 8: "Defendant personally knows that one or more YSL associates committed the murder of Donavon Thomas, Jr. on behalf of YSL."
Sledge's attorney, said his client would not have signed a final plea agreement that still included that statement.
"It was something we objected to and wanted removed and it appeared in that final version. Again we did sign it... and we missed it," the attorney testified.
As part of the original deal, Sledge was given 15 years probation for his association in alleged gang activity.
Now it remains to be seen if prosecutors will try to assert he didn't fulfill his part of the plea agreement. During his plea hearing it was noted that if he violated the agreement, it would "result in defendant being sentenced on Count 30 of this indictment, and the district attorney will recommend that the defendant serve the maximum sentence allowed law."
That maximum sentence? 35 years in prison.
Statements Sledge acknowledged as the truth in December 2022 plea hearing
Number 1: Young Slime Life, a/k/a YSL, is an organization made up of three or more members or associates who share common identifiers that include but are not limited to colors, hand signals, and terminology, who have committed crimes intended to increase the notoriety, street credibility, and reputation of YSL.
Number 2: Defendant has been a member and/or associate of YSL since 2012.
Number 3: While associated with YSL and to support and express loyalty to YSL, defendant and co-defendant Damekion Garlington and Quindarius Zachary appear in a video with another person A.S. where defendant brandished a weapon used in a drive-by shooting and wherein on behalf of YSL defendant threatened to harm a person named Kel, a rival gang member, who had begun a relationship with defendant's ex-girlfriend.
Number 4: On or about April 28th, 2015, as reflected in Fulton County Indictment 15SC138994, defendant and fellow YSL associates Damekion Garlington and Quindarius Zachary committed a drive-by shooting using the firearm defendant wielded in the video referenced in part 3 of this section targeting family members of a rival gang.
Number 5: Defendant and his fellow YSL associates committed the drive-by shooting referenced in sections 3 and 4 above on behalf of YSL and to increase the notoriety, reputation, and fear of YSL.
Number 6: Defendant admitted committing and was convicted of aggravated assault and participation in criminal street gang activity, among other charges, for his participation in the drive-by shooting referenced in sections 3, 4, and 5 above.
Number 7: Defendant was told by another YSL associate that immediately after the murder of Donovan Thomas, Jr., YSL associates met at the McDonald's on Cleveland Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, to discuss the murder.
Number 8: Defendant personally knows that one or more YSL associates committed the murder of Donavon Thomas, Jr. on behalf of YSL.
Number 9: On January 10, 2015, after the murder of Donovan Thomas, Jr., defendant and other YSL associates gathered at the home of Jeffery Williams, a/k/a Young Thug, who gave defendant and other YSL associates cash money to lay low.
Number 10: Defendant has personal knowledge that on January 10th, 2015, after the murder of Donovan Thomas, Jr., YSL associates traveled to Miami, Florida, with co-defendant and YSL founder Jeffery Williams, a/k/a Young Thug.
Number 11: Defendant did not murder Donovan Thomas, Jr. and was not a party to the crime.
Number 12: Defendant did not murder Shymel Drinks and was not a party to the crime.
Number 13: Defendant cannot truthfully assert that the persons charged in this indictment with the murder of Donovan Thomas, Jr. are not guilty of the murder, and defendant will make no attempt at trial, prior to trial, or after trial to exonerate the persons charged in this indictment with the murder of Donovan Thomas, Jr.
Number 14: The gas station at 151 Cleveland Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, is one of multiple locations where YSL associates sell drugs and do not allow other gangs to operate.
Number 15: The gas station at 221 Cleveland Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, is another location where YSL associates sell drugs and do not permit other gangs to operate.
Number 16: Defendant has personal knowledge that he and other members or associates of YSL have either participated in or directly committed at least one of the following crimes in order to increase the notoriety and reputation of YSL: Murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, attempted murder, theft, illegal gun possession, and illegal drug possession and sales.