ATLANTA — Two more defendants accepted plea deals on Wednesday in the long-running YSL RICO trial in Fulton County. The pleas come after several days of negotiations following the trial's pause last week after a motion for mistrial.
From the original 28 defendants, there are now three left in the case: Jeffery "Young Thug" Williams, Deamonte "Yak Gotti" Kendrick, and Shannon ‘SB’ Stillwell. Many were severed or separated from the case early on due to issues such as not having legal representation, while 12 have now taken deals to plead guilty.
On Tuesday, defendant Quamarvious Nichols entered a guilty plea on one RICO charge, while the rest of his charges were dismissed. He was given the negotiated recommended sentence of seven years in prison and 13 more years on probation.
More plea deals in YSL RICO case
Here's who entered in a negotiated plea on Wednesday:
Rodalius 'Lil Rod' Ryan
A grand jury indicted Rodalius 'Lil Rod' Ryan on one charge of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in 2022.
On Wednesday, Ryan pleaded guilty to that charge and was sentenced to 10 years to serve, but it was commuted to time served to run concurrently with a life sentence he is already serving for an unrelated murder. This means he will serve no extra time outside the existing life sentence.
Ryan's murder conviction is currently under appeal. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear his appeal next month.
Marquavius Huey
Huey pleaded guilty to one count of RICO violation and accepted reduced sentences on charges of robbery (reduced from armed robbery) and firearms possession charges. He was sentenced to 25 years, with nine years in custody, 11 years on probation, and five years to be suspended.
Huey was initially indicted on 19 charges in the case, which include: conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, three counts of armed robbery, four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, hijacking a motor vehicle in the first degree, four counts of participation in criminal street gang activity, possession of weapon by incarcerated individual, and possession of a telecommunication device by incarcerated individual.
Racketeer-influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges are brought against individuals involved in a pattern of "racketeering activity," such as gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, and bribery.
The court returned Tuesday afternoon in Georgia's longest-running criminal trial, as the potential for a mistrial still looms over the proceedings. The proceedings were canceled late last week and again on Monday.
There was no update on the status of the remaining defendants in the trial.
Where the mistrial motion came from
Controversy follows the trial after a new witness, rapper Slimelife Shawty, took the stand last Wednesday.
While on the stand, Slimelife Shawty, whose real name is Wunnie Lee, was asked to identify others involved in the case based on social media posts. While reading a caption for one of the posts in question, Lee accidentally read an unredacted version on the paper exhibit instead of the redacted version displayed on a monitor.
The unredacted version featured the hashtag #FreeQua, which Lee read aloud to the jury. Defense teams quickly moved for a mistrial as the jury was not supposed to know which defendants had been incarcerated.
Following the mishap, Judge Paige Whitaker excused the jury and witness and instantly began admonishing the prosecution.
Whitaker told the defense while she would not agree to a mistrial with prejudice, she left the possibility open for a mistrial without prejudice, meaning the case would end, but the State could retry it. The trial, which began in November 2023, is already the longest in Georgia state history.