ATLANTA — The trial involving rapper Young Thug and the alleged YSL street gang continues Wednesday with Quindarrius Zachary, aka QZ or Lil D, on the stand.
Zachary, who is testifying under an immunity deal with the state, has sickle cell disease. He spent the previous two days telling the state he doesn't know or doesn't recall the answers to most of their questions.
But that changed when defense attorney Max Schardt began questioning him on Tuesday.
"Let's be real. When you said, 'I don't know' and 'I don't recall' to some of those questions, that wasn't the truth, was it?" Schardt asked.
"No," Zachary said after a long pause.
"That wasn't the truth, was it?" Schardt reaffirmed.
"No," Zachary said again.
Young Thug, YSL trial live stream | Wednesday, Sept. 25
On Monday, Zachary's health complications moved to the forefront towards the end of the day as the trial abruptly wrapped up early after the witness told Judge Paige Whitaker he was in a lot of pain.
"Do you remember substantially less today than you did on Friday?" prosecutor Adriane Love asked on Monday.
"Friday, I was probably on like five Percocet, 10 milligrams of morphine," Zachary replied. "I don't remember nothing."
The state ordered Zachary's arrest on Sept. 13 to ensure he'd testify in the case. After two days in the Fulton County Jail, Zachary's attorney said he was hospitalized for treatment of his sickle cell disease.
"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 10 times, " the attorney said on Sept. 16. "He's extremely sick. He will not survive."
The state released Zachary to home confinement until his testimony is over at his mother's home and he is ordered to have no visitors except for limited family. He is not allowed to use the internet or social media. He will also be monitored by an ankle monitor and cannot leave the home except for medical treatment or going to court.
His prior testimony included known rapper Young Thug for 15 years, describing their relationship as "aight" and admitting they have had disagreements in the past. He also provided key details about events surrounding the murder of "Nut," corroborating earlier statements by another witness, Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland.
Recent case developments
"Mounk Tounk" takes the stand
Prosecutor Adriane Love initially said Sledge's testimony would be only three hours, but it stretched over multiple full days. Sledge negotiated a plea deal in 2022 after being indicted alongside Jeffery Williams—better known as the rapper Young Thug—and the other co-defendants currently on trial.
He pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
In addition to 15 years of probation, Sledge acknowledged 16 factual statements that will likely be used to prosecute his co-defendants.
Lil Woody becomes a star witness
Prosecutors hoped Woody would help build their case against the rapper Young Thug and several co-defendants. They allege YSL is a gang — not a record label — responsible for several violent crimes.
Instead, his testimony brought months of questions and controversy that dramatically changed the course of the trial.
Considered a key witness before the trial, Woody largely declined to answer questions from prosecutors after taking the stand, often telling them he doesn't recall events he was allegedly involved in, statements he made, or even things that happened in court.
It became his calling card, so much so that he actually released a song called "I Don't Recall," which is detailed lower in this story.
During his testimony, he said he constantly lied to the police in order to protect himself and his family and that jurors shouldn't believe any of his previous statements. He also told the court he blamed rapper Young Thug for crimes he said he didn't commit.
"The police kept locking me up for whatever they could," he stated. "And they keep bringing up Thug name, so what I did to get them off me was 'Thug did this, Thug did that.'"
Lil Woody, who cannot be prosecuted for anything he says on the stand, told prosecutors that he didn't recall the answers to their questions dozens of times and begged them to leave him alone.
"The police told me they want a big fish. And I'm a little fish," he said. "When they told me that, my only motive was to convince them that I was telling them the truth about this guy in my mind."
In an effort to clear up questions about Woody's immunity deal, state prosecutors called an ex parte meeting with Woody, his fill-in attorney and the judge.
The defense team raised concerns about not being included in that meeting. Young Thug's attorney, Brian Steel, was held in contempt of court and sentenced to 20 days in jail for asking about the ex-parte meeting and refusing to tell Glanville who told him about its existence.
They motioned for the recusal of Glanville — and a mistrial, which Glanville denied. Judge Rachel Krause determined Judge Glanville probably should not have ruled on those motions himself and ordered him off the case.
The case was assigned to Judge Shukura Ingram, who recused herself. Judge Paige Whitaker then took control.
The extraordinary curveball in court sidetracked proceedings for two months.