Young thug released from prison after pleading guilty in YSL case

Steel spent most of his remarks refuting the most serious allegation that Young Thug was involved in the murder of Donovan Thomas Jr. Steel addressed the claim that a car used in the murder was rented under Young Thug's name by explaining that the rapper often rented cars to friends in need. Steel says Kenneth Copeland asked Thug for help before the alleged murder. Answering the call was the extent of Thug's involvement, he says.

December 10, 2023

Young Thug's co-defendant, Shannon Stillwell, also known as SB or Shannon Bernard Jackson, is stabbed to death in prison. He survived injuries to his back, stomach and shoulder. Fellow inmate Willie Brown admits to the knife attack and says he took the knife from Stillwell after he entered his cell. The trial is suspended until the new year.

January 3, 2024

Trontavious Stephens, a member of YSL, takes the stand after agreeing to a plea deal that includes eight years of probation. He describes himself, Young Thug and Walter Murphy as the founding members of YSL. He admits the organization grew out of the Raised on Cleveland street gang, but says it was founded as a “music label – music came first.”

February 20, 2024

Prosecutors play a 911 call from an anonymous woman who claims to have heard of a shooting by Young Thug. “They came to my house and told me that the guy who shot someone was Young Thug, whoever that is,” she says in the call.

April 4, 2024

The judge denies a request from Young Thug's lawyers to remove lead accuser Adriane Love from the case. Brian Steel had objected to the questioning of their witnesses with a series of questions along the lines of “Isn't it true you told me?” He says the rhetoric makes her an unsworn witness who should be questioned on the witness stand.

April 8, 2024

Further allegations of impropriety from the prosecution. Jurors will be shown text messages that a prosecutor's investigator, Rasheed Hamilton, sent to a witness identified as A. Bennett, who first took the stand in March. One message said, “Text me later if you're bored. We won't talk shop.” Bennett testified that Hamilton said he wanted to go out with her and called her “mom” several times. No further action against Hamilton was reported.

July 1, 2024

The trial is on hold indefinitely as several defense attorneys complain that Judge Ural Glanville held improper private meetings with prosecutors and an uncooperative witness. Witness Kenneth Copeland, also known as rapper Lil Woody, refused to testify and was held in contempt of court. The meetings took place without the knowledge of the defense attorneys, but when Steel found out about them and mentioned it in court, he too was held in contempt for refusing to reveal his source. He received a 20-day prison sentence, which was soon overturned. Glanville subsequently released full minutes of the meeting.

July 15, 2024

Judge Ural Glanville is removed. Judge Rachel Krause, who ruled on the recusal, wrote that while the ex parte meeting was not inappropriate, the recusal was important to “preserve the public's trust in the justice system.” A separate motion seeks to bar Krause from the disqualification decision based on a $2,000 campaign contribution she received from Glanville. Krause rejects this request.

July 17, 2024

Judge Ural Glanville's replacement, Judge Shukura Ingram, who was randomly assigned to the case, is herself recused because her former deputy at the courthouse had a romantic relationship with Christian Eppinger, one of Young Thug's co-defendants.

August 12, 2024

The trial continues under the direction of Judge Paige Reese Whitaker. Copeland, a key witness, begins his testimony again but answers most questions with “I don't remember.”

October 23, 2024

Court is adjourned after rapper Slimelife Shawty read an Instagram post with the hashtag “#FreeQua” during his testimony – which the state should have deleted from its copy. Because the hashtag could sway the jury by implying that Quamarvious Nichols, one of Young Thug's co-defendants, is in prison, Nichols' attorneys are requesting a mistrial. Another defendant named Qua, Marquavius ​​Huey, also requests a mistrial. Judge Whitaker accuses prosecutors of a series of errors, of which this is just the latest. “What I'm trying to do is clean up your sloppiness so that everyone doesn't have, you know, wasted 10, 12 months of their lives in this process,” Whitaker tells prosecutors. “I'm sorry that you all have, you know, this gigantic, vast universe of evidence that maybe if you narrowed it down, you wouldn't make these kinds of mistakes.”

October 29, 2024

After the state's mistake, Quamarvious Nichols takes a deal. All but one of the charges against him, including a murder charge, are dismissed on the condition that he accepts the RICO conspiracy charge. This includes admitting that he was involved in the possession and distribution of drugs, but Nichols categorically denies involvement in violence. Nichols will serve seven years of a 20-year sentence, adjusted for time served, with the remainder of the 13-year sentence to be served on probation. The other Qua, Marquavius ​​Huey, also makes a deal. And another defendant, Rodalius Ryan, aka Lil Rod, takes a plea deal and receives a 10-year prison sentence that will be commuted to time served. He will now fight a separate murder charge in the Georgia Supreme Court.

October 31, 2024

Young Thug pleads guilty and is released from prison.

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