ATLANTA — The attorney of a YSL witness took the stand in front of the judge in the case on Monday, pleading for his client to be released from custody because he is concerned for his health.
According to the attorney, Quindarrius Zachary, also known as "Lil D," has sickle cell disease. Jail records show he was booked into the Fulton County Sheriff's Office custody on Friday, Sept. 13, on an "order for the arrest of a material witness."
The state is expected to call Zachary as one of their next ten witnesses in the trial.
His attorney pleaded with the judge for his release, citing severe health concerns.
"He will not live, judge. I talked to the family, and in the last four months, he's been in and out of the hospital ten times, " the attorney added. "He's extremely sick. He will not survive."
Zachary's attorney added that his client would come to court when asked but continued to beg for his release.
Judge Paige Reese Whitaker responded by clarifying that she understood Zachary was at Grady receiving treatment rather than the jail.
"The information that I got this morning from the sheriff's office was that he is in Grady... so I don't know how recent your information is."
The attorney responded that he spoke with family at 2 a.m. on Monday about Zachary's condition and believed he was still jailed at that point.
Zachary's soon-to-be testimony and arrest come after several significant developments in the case.
A stop-and-go schedule last week, in which the jury was also out as the court conducted a working day on Wednesday, all follows on the conclusion of testimony earlier last week from Antonio Sledge, a.k.a "Mounk Tounk" as well as two other witnesses - Sledge's attorney and a man who testified about the specifics of a car Young Thug rented that was allegedly used in the murder of Donovan Thomas, one of the key crimes in the sprawling case.
Sledge's testimony came after the lengthy testimony of Kenneth "Lil Woody" finally came to a close. Prosecutors hoped Woody would help build their case against the rapper Young Thug and several co-defendants. Instead, his testimony brought months of questions and controversy that dramatically changed the course of the trial.
11Alive reached out to the Fulton County District Attorney's office for comment.