ATLANTA — Court returned Tuesday afternoon in Georgia's longest-running criminal trial as a defendant pleaded guilty after days of the court being out of session amid a mistrial possibility and negotiations between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Proceedings were canceled late last week and again on Monday as this possibility hung over proceedings.
Defendant Quamarvious Nichols entered a guilty plea in which he admits guilt on one charge, the RICO charge, while the rest of his charges will be dropped. His other charges had included murder.
His lawyers and prosecutors agreed to a recommended sentence of seven years in jail and 13 more on probation. He is getting credit for time served -- more than two years since this case began -- bringing his remaining jail sentence to about five years.
Meanwhile, there was no update on the status of Young Thug (legal name Jeffery Williams) and defendants Deamonte Kendrick Shannon Stillwell, Rodalius Ryan and Marquavius Huey.
Kendrick's lawyer, Doug Weinstein, wrote on X: "We continue to fight for his freedom, so that he can go home to his family and support system that all love him very much."
You can review the stream below, and timestamped updates from while Nichols' plea hearing was ongoing, below that:
Young Thug, YSL trial live stream
Young Thug, YSL trial live updates
2:28 p.m. | We're expecting comments soon from lawyers outside the courthouse.
2:12 p.m. | That's it for today. No update on Young Thug or the other four defendants.
2:02 p.m. | Judge accepts plea as negotiated and she will sentence in accordance with the recommendation of seven years in prison, 13 more years on probation.
2:01 p.m. | Judge Whitaker now going through her process of explaining her thoughts and the recommended sentence.
1:59 p.m. | Nichols' lawyer reads off a statement asking for the court to accept the plea and sentence him "accordingly," while calling him an "intelligent young man" who "has a future."
1:45 p.m. | The State is now reading off evidence they would've used in association with Nichols if his part in the trial had continued.
1:43 p.m. | Another rundown of the Nichols plea agreement:
1:41 p.m. | Nichols has entered his guilty plea.
1:39 p.m. | Nichols had also faced charges of murder, participation in criminal street gang activity and several firearms possession violations.
1:38 p.m. | Quamarvious Nichols is entering a negotiated guilty plea with a recommended sentence of 7 years in prison on his RICO charge and the rest of his charges dismissed.
1:35 p.m. | As an aside, Young Thug is in the Halloween spirit with these spiderweb shoulders.
1:33 p.m. | We're back, and Quamarvious Nichols is coming up to the podium for the entry of his plea.
1:27 p.m. | Still on recess. Meanwhile, 11Alive's Grace King in court reports that five of the six YSL defendants are in court -- including Young Thug. Only Rodalius Ryan is not in court.
1:15 p.m. | Also, the tea leaves on this X post from Deamonte Kendrick's lawyer, Doug Weinstein, seem to read like he will not be among those with a plea deal announced this afternoon.
1:14 p.m. | With this court break, here's a look at other pleas we've seen so far:
1:12 p.m. | They're actually taking a brief recess now. No word on why from Judge Whitaker.
1:11 p.m. | From all appearances, Quamarvious Nichols is signing a guilty plea. No details on the plea available yet.
1:10 p.m. | Judge Whitaker indicated a plea would be entered for defendant Quamarvious Nichols. They are still working through that.
Recent developments
What Happened on 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.
More Recent Developments
Contempt Order Reversed for Young Thug's Attorney
In June, Steel was held in contempt, arrested, and ordered by then-presiding Judge Ural Glanville to serve 20 days in the Fulton County Jail. He later appealed the order and was granted bond, avoiding jail time while the contempt charge was being appealed.
On Tuesday, the Georgia Supreme Court officially reversed the contempt order, ruling that "the evidence did not support a contempt finding because he did not interfere with the court’s administration of justice, his information was protected by attorney-client privilege, and due process required the judge to recuse from the contempt proceeding."
The ruling states that a different judge should have presided over the contempt hearing since Glanville was involved in the alleged "controversy."
Mounk Tounk's Plea Agreement Controversy
Fulton County prosecutors are seeking to revoke the probation of Antonio Sledge, also known as Mounk Tounk, alleging that he violated the terms of his plea agreement during his testimony in the ongoing YSL RICO trial.
Sledge, a former co-defendant in the case, took a plea deal in December 2022, agreeing to testify truthfully about criminal activities involving Young Slime Life (YSL). In return, he was sentenced to 15 years of probation.
According to a motion filed by the District Attorney’s Office, Sledge "knowingly and willfully" contradicted key elements of his plea deal while on the stand last month.
The plea agreement required Sledge to acknowledge 16 factual statements. However, during his testimony, Sledge walked back several of those statements, leading prosecutors to argue that he failed to fulfill the obligations of the plea.
Judge Whitaker's Criticism of Prosecution
Whitaker delivered fiery remarks to the prosecution, suggesting the team is "so unorganized that you are throwing this case together as you try it."
"I can't figure out what it is," Whitaker said to prosecutors in the courtroom Monday afternoon. "But it is baffling to me that somebody with the number of years of experience that you have, time after time after time, continues to seemingly purposefully hide the ball to the extent that you possibly can for as long as you possibly can."
Whitaker appeared frustrated as she shared strong words with Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love over how she was handling the case. The judge's words were in response to a dispute over hearsay evidence the prosecution attempted to introduce via a witness. Atlanta rapper Young Thug's attorney, Keith Adams, called for a mistrial.
"This case is being made much more difficult for everybody because of the haphazard way in which it is being presented," Whitaker said to Love before calling for a recess.
Upon her return, Whitaker ultimately denied the motion, saying she didn't believe Love was trying to get a mistrial just to try the case again. She explained that she hoped it was just "poor lawyering" from the prosecution.
