ATLANTA — A Fulton County jury followed the YSL RICO case for almost a year exactly to the day, and have now returned a verdict.
On their fourth day of deliberations Tuesday, the jury determined the final two remaining defendants in the case, Deamonte Kendrick (aka Yak Gotti) and Shannon Stillwell, were almost entirely not guilty.
Kendrick was found not guilty on all the counts against him, and Stillwell was found guilty only on one count: Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Stillwell was sentenced in court and will leave a free man -- he was given 10 years, only two to serve in jail, and he was credited with time already served, which amounts to more than ten years. The remainder of the sentence is probation.
Kendrick and his attorney, Doug Weinstein, hugged in court after the verdict was read.
The Fulton County District Attorney released a statement reading, "We always respect the verdict of a jury.”
- Kendrick faced nine counts originally in the case: violation of RICO, murder, participation in criminal street gang activity, three counts of violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon previously convicted of a felony involving the use or possession of a firearm. However three of those (59, 60, 62) were granted a directed verdict of acquittal by Judge Paige Whitaker -- violation of two counts of violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, and the count of possession of a machine gun.
A directed verdict is one where, as Cornell University's Legal Information Institute explains, the judge determines "there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to reach a different conclusion." In this case, the conclusion was that there was not sufficient evidence for those three charges for them to be presented to a jury to consider convicting Kendrick.
Deamonte Kendrick aka Yak Gotti final verdict:
- Count 1 (violation of RICO): Not guilty
- Count 2 (murder): Not guilty
- Count 57 (participation in criminal street gang activity): Not guilty
- Count 58 (violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act): Not guilty
- Count 61 (possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony): Not guilty
- Count 63 (possession of a firearm by a convicted felon who was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or possession of a firearm): Not guilty
Shannon Stillwell
- Stillwell faced eight counts originally in the case: violation of RICO, two counts of murder, two counts of participation in criminal street gang activity, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon who was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (Counts 1, 2, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54 and 64). Two of those, 54 and 64 (possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and one of his counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon who was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or possession of a firearm) were earlier partially granted a directed verdict toward lesser charges by Judge Paige Whitaker.
Shannon Stillwell final verdict:
- Count 1 (violation of RICO): Not guilty
- Count 2 (murder): Not guilty
- Count 49 (murder): Not guilty
- Count 50 (participation in criminal street gang activity): Not guilty
- Count 51 (participation in criminal street gang activity): Not guilty
- Count 52 (possession of a firearm by a convicted felon who was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or possession of a firearm): Not guilty
- Count 54: Not guilty
- Count 64 (possession of firearm by a convicted felon): Guilty
More on the trial:
The case centered on the prosecution's theory that YSL represented "Young Slime Life," a Cleveland Avenue-centered street gang that had been responsible for several crimes across the years, including serial theft and drug trafficking as well as the murder of Donovan Thomas, a key event in the State's accusations.
Both Kendrick and Stillwell had been among five men charged with murder in the Thomas killing.
Defense lawyers meanwhile consistently painted the case as an overreach, as an attack on First Amendment expression rights -- with the indictment using Young Thug lyrics in many instances as evidence -- and as founded on flimsy evidence.
The case was organized under Georgia's RICO statute, and violation of RICO was a central charge against each defendant who was indicted as an alleged YSL gang member.
For much of the year that trial testimony was ongoing, rapper Young Thug was the center of its universe. The highest-profile of the original 28 defendants, he ultimately pleaded guilty in late October to some of his charges in a legal maneuver to obtain a more favorable sentence than prosecutors were offering in plea deals. It succeeded, and Young Thug -- whose legal name is Jeffery Williams -- left the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, where he was held without bond for the duration of the trial, for the first time in more than two years.
Another high-profile defendant in the case, the rapper Gunna, was one of the earliest to take a plea deal.
Twenty-four of the other 26 defendants slowly peeled off the case, either through plea deals or earlier in the process when many were severed from the case for reasons such as not having legal representation. One defendant was never caught.
For the better part of the final period of the trial, there were six defendants -- Young Thug and five others. The case finally began to head toward a finish line when a possible mistrial issue arose in October involving evidence inappropriately shown in court.
After that, Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan and Marquavius Huey pleaded guilty under negotiated terms. Then Young Thug entered a non-negotiated guilty plea -- as well as no contest to the most serious charges he faced -- in his successful bid to gain his freedom from Judge Paige Whitaker.
Whitaker had only taken over the case this summer. It had to that point been marked by an element of chaos and discord, as defense attorneys and prosecutors routinely traded accusations of inappropriate tactics and conduct, and Judge Ural Glanville often showed visible frustration at trying to keep the trial on its rails.
He however was recused, under order of another Fulton County judge, from the case in July after an ex-parte meeting between Glanville, prosecutors, and a key witness. The meeting became the subject of deep contention in the trial, as defense lawyers argued it was improper to the point of requiring Judge Glanville's removal -- which Judge Rachel Krause partially agreed with, stating in her order that she had no doubt he "can and would continue presiding fairly over this matter" but that "the 'necessity of preserving the public's confidence in the judicial system' weighs in favor of excusing Judge Glanville from further handling of this case."
Jury selection on the case began in January 2023, setting in motion what would itself be a nearly yearlong process. Just shy of two years later, the YSL RICO trial is the longest criminal proceeding in Georgia's history.