ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – Young Thug is spending another birthday behind bars as his historically lengthy criminal trial in Atlanta progresses.
Jeffery Lamar Williams – also known as Young Thug – was born on August 16, 1991 in Atlanta. He turned 33 on Friday.
Williams was arrested on May 9, 2022, along with 27 other alleged gang members in Buckhead as part of a 56-count indictment. Jury selection took longer than any other trial in Georgia history, and the actual testimony itself will likely surpass state records, both of which were set by the 2014-15 Atlanta Public Schools teachers scandal and trial.
The trial itself began on November 27, 2023. Defense attorneys have repeatedly raised concerns about the length of the trial, and Fulton County prosecutors have yet to call more than 100 witnesses.
The prosecution is trying to prove that YSL is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous crimes. The defense says YSL is not a gang, but merely the name of a record label.
Testimony resumed Monday after a delay of nearly two months due to the bias of the trial’s previous judge, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville. A second judge recused herself just 24 hours after the testimony was assigned. A third judge, Paige Reese Whitaker, denied several defense motions to dismiss the case and now appears determined to let the trial continue.
The focus of attention this week was prosecutors replaying an interview Kenneth Copeland (aka Lil’ Woody) gave to police. Police pressed him to reveal information about a series of crimes they wanted to link to a gang they believed was linked to the internationally known rapper.
Young Thug himself faces eight counts of criminal charges under a federal law originally enacted to combat organized crime. Georgia is one of 33 states with its own RICO law, but in the Peach State, alleged criminal organizations do not have to have existed as long as the federal law requires.
Williams is also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to resell, possession of codeine with intent to resell, possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun.
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