ATLANTA — The YSL trial will continue Tuesday morning with the two remaining defendants on the case, following pleas from several others, including rapper Young Thug.
The two defendants who have not accepted a plea deal or otherwise entered a plea to end their part of the case are Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick, aka Yak Gotti.
Kendrick's attorney Doug Weinstein noted his client was rejecting a plea offer and "fully intends to take this to the jury and get our not guilty verdicts."
YSL trial live stream
Young Thug's plea
On Oct. 31, Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, entered a non-negotiated guilty plea to some of his charges -- in part a legal maneuver to get a more favorable sentence from the judge than what was being offered by prosecutors, which largely succeeded.
Williams pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including gang activity, and weapons and drug charges. However, he pleaded no contest to violating the RICO Act and participation in a criminal street gang, meaning he didn't plead guilty or not guilty but simply accepted the charge.
The state recommended 45 years, with 25 to serve in custody and 21 on probation subject to special gang statute.
The judge ultimately sentenced Williams to 40 years, with 5 to serve, but commuted to time served with 15 years of probation followed by backloaded 20 years. If not successful on probation, it can be served in custody, but if successful, it can be commuted to time served after probation is fulfilled. He will remain on reporting status for the first 7.5 years.
The judge imposed several special conditions, including staying away from the Atlanta census area for the first 10 years except for exceptions.
After the resolution of his case, Young Thug left jail last week after roughly two-and-a-half years in custody.
Recent plea deals
The day before, Rodalius 'Lil Rod' Ryan pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) 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.
Marquavious Huey also entered in a negotiated plea, pleading 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 on probation, and five years to be suspended.
On Tuesday, defendant Quamarvious Nichols entered in a guilty plea on one count, the 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 on probation. With credit for time served in the more-than-two-year-long legal process with this case, his remaining jail time will be about five years.
Where the mistrial motion came from
Controversy follows the trial after a new witness, rapper Slimelife Shawty, took the stand.
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.
