ATLANTA — Testimony continued Monday on day five of the trial against Young Thug and the alleged YSL street gang.
The trial picked up with prosecutors continuing to run down the 95-page indictment - a process that is expected to last months. On Thursday, they addressed three counts among the 191 that allegedly constitute acts in furtherance of the conspiracy that fall under the violation of RICO charge. That charge is itself Count 1 of 65 in the document.
The testimony Thursday turned to Young Thug himself for the first time, as he is implicated in Act 4 for allegedly committing the felony offense of theft by receiving stolen property in a Sept. 9, 2013 stolen gun incident.
The trial took a break Friday, and is expected to break again Dec. 16-Jan. 2.
On day three last Wednesday, Detective Mark Belknap of the Atlanta Police gang unit opened testimony by tracing the alleged gang origins of YLS - Young Slime Life, as he testified. Defense attorneys have asserted YSL is simply the Young Stoner Life label Young Thug has recorded on and that he has no ties of any kind to organized crime.
In addition to Belknap's testimony, the third day of the trial - after opening statements were delivered Monday and Tuesday - was marked by an interruption to the court after some of the jurors were briefly shown by cameras in court.
In an effort to protect the integrity of the jury, 11Alive and other news outlets took down their streams and removed any videos that included the moment the jurors were shown. Judge Ural Glanville determined the proceedings could continue, though in the later afternoon portions, he asked that Belknap no longer be shown on camera. The latter half of the detective's testimony was done audio only.
So far one woman testified about a 2013 carjacking and an Atlanta resident also took the stand about a 2013 burglary that occurred at his Buckhead home.
