ATLANTA — The long-running YSL RICO trial against Young Thug and his co-defendants will remain paused for the next couple of days following a new motion from the state asking for more time to respond to the motions about the presiding judge's fate on the case.
Monday prosecutors filed a motion asking for a 48-hour extension to file a written response regarding previously filed motions by defendants asking for Judge Ural Glanville to step aside from the case.
The motion was filed about an hour and a half before the 5 p.m. deadline set by Judge Rachel Krause last week, and around 4:40 p.m., an order was filed granting the extended deadline.
The state now has until July 10 at 5 p.m. to file its written response. The trial has been paused since July 1, pending a decision on whether or not to recuse Glanville.
"Time is of the essence given that a jury trial is currently paused pending resolution of these recusal motions," Krause's order last week said.
It came after attorneys for Deamonte Kendrick filed a motion on the same day pushing to disqualify any Fulton County superior judges from ruling on the motions for recusal.
"Wherefore, Mr. Kendrick respectfully requests that Judge Krause, and any other Judge within Fulton County, recuse themselves from hearing Kendrick’s Motion on Recusal and facilitate such actions as necessary to have the Motion heard by a Judge outside of Fulton County Superior Court," the motion from Kendrick's attorney read.
Some of the recent contention stems from a June 10 meeting that Young Thug's lawyers called "unlawful" between the court and prosecutors, including Kenneth Copeland, a sworn witness who was given immunity on June 7.
Attorneys for Kendrick previously stated they were not provided notice of the meeting and added that they were "in the dark." Multiple attorneys for the defense called Glanville biased and want another judge assigned to the case and for any further meetings, and transcripts from those meetings, to be disclosed.
More on the Young Thug, YSL trial
On May 9, 2022, the hip-hop world was jolted with the news that rapper Young Thug—a Grammy winner, trendsetter and Atlanta icon—had been arrested.
It's been over two years now that the artist, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams, has remained behind bars. The central charge against him is that three letters with which his name has become synonymous because of his artistic success in launching the "Young Stoner Life" label, YSL, actually signalize a violent gang: Young Slime Life.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis named Williams, among other metro Atlanta rappers and those with ties to the alleged gang, to bring charges against a total of 28 people in a sweeping 88-page indictment. The case alleges that not only is Young Thug among the gang's members, but he is also its kingpin.
"He is the one they're all afraid of," a prosecutor said at a June 2022 hearing. "He's the one that's King Slime."
A long pretrial process passed to an even longer jury selection process, and across this time, the co-defendant list dwindled with plea deals and other circumstances, keeping some of the individuals charged from remaining on the case.
The trial finally began in earnest in November 2023, already considered the longest in Georgia's history.
11Alive has tracked key developments in the case and highlighted moments in the courtroom. Follow along in the timeline below.