ATLANTA — Jurors in Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial will return to court Monday following a break for the Thanksgiving holiday period to continue deliberating the fate of two remaining defendants in Fulton County's YSL RICO case.
The lawyer for one of those defendants, Deamonte Kendrick aka Yak Gotti, said Kendrick was stabbed in jail on Sunday night but that he is expected to still be in court and make a full recovery.
"I spoke to Deamonte last night, and while he sounded tired I expect him to make a full recovery," Doug Weinstein wrote on X. "I expect to be able to see him in court today and will know more then. Please keep Deamonte in your prayers, along with all those housed in our Fulton County jails."
Last Wednesday, the jury continued a second day of deliberations for several hours. Per Judge Paige Whitaker's instructions, the jurors were excused until Monday, and they will now resume deliberating this morning.
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Deamonte Kendrick (also known as Yak Gotti) and Shannon Stillwell face accusations of murder on behalf of the purported Young Slime Life gang, which prosecutors allege was co-founded by Atlanta rapper Young Thug.
Across a year of trial proceedings, prosecutors presented police testimony, social media posts and song lyrics as evidence to support claims of gang-related activities. The defense countered that YSL is a legitimate music label, not a criminal organization.
There were 28 men originally indicted under alleged violations of RICO and other crimes, a list that has slowly whittled down to the two remaining defendants, Kendrick and Stillwell. The others have slowly peeled off the case, either being severed, or removed, from it for various reasons (such as not having legal representation) or via plea deals.
Young Thug, the highest-profile defendant in the case, left jail after more than two years last month when he entered a non-negotiated guilty plea to some of his charges in a legal bid to receive a more favorable sentence directly from Judge Whitaker than what was being offered by prosecutors in plea deals -- a move that succeeded.
Legal analyst and former Fulton County prosecutor Darryl Cohen, who is not affiliated with the case, said the trial’s complexity and duration make predicting the final outcome for Kendrick and Stillwell challenging.
“This case has gone on for so long that I wouldn’t be surprised by a mixed verdict, a not-guilty verdict, or anything else,” Cohen said. “The jury’s decision is hard to predict given the twists and turns of this very complex case.”