One of the two men indicted along with rapper Young Thug and awaiting a jury verdict has been jailed but is expected to appear in court on Monday, his attorney said.
Attorney Doug Weinstein confirmed that his client, Deamonte Kendrick, who performs as Yak Gotti, was stabbed on Sunday. Jurors return Monday to continue deliberating whether to convict Kendrick and Shannon Stillwell on gang, murder, drug and gun charges.
Natalie Ammons, spokeswoman for the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, said in an email that Kendrick and another inmate got into a fight at the south jail in Union City, Ga. Kendrick was treated for “minor scratches from a sharp object,” he wrote. The investigation into the fight is ongoing, he said.
The two were among 28 people indicted along with Young Thug in May 2022 on charges including conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Jury selection for the six trials of those defendants began nearly two years ago, and opening statements were last year.
Four defendants, including Young Thug, pleaded guilty in October. The rapper, named Jeffery Williams, was released on probation. Stillwell and Kendrick rejected plea deals after more than a week of negotiations, and their attorneys chose not to present evidence or witnesses.
The jury began deliberations last Tuesday afternoon and was dismissed at 5 p.m. Jurors deliberated for about six hours Wednesday before breaking for the Thanksgiving break. They were returning Monday to continue discussing whether Kendrick and Shannon Stillwell should be sentenced for gang, murder, drug and gun charges.
Kendrick and Stillwell are accused of killing Donovan Thomas Jr., also known as “Big Nut,” in 2015 at an Atlanta barbershop. Prosecutors say Thomas was in a rival gang. Stillwell was also charged with murdering Shymel Drinks in 2022 in retaliation for the killing of YSL associates days earlier, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that Young Thug founded a street gang in 2012 called Young Slime Life, or YSL, which they say is related to the Bloods gang.
Young Thug’s record label is also known as YSL, for Young Stoner Life. Kendrick was featured on two popular songs from the label’s compilation album The Language of Slime 2 — Take it to Court again Slattyand another Young Thug song that prosecutors played during their closing.
The case has been plagued by problems and delays. Jury selection took about 10 months, and Stillwell was stabbed last year in the Fulton County Jail, halting the trial.
Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took over after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville was removed from the case in July because she was meeting with prosecutors and state witnesses without defense attorneys.
Whitaker has often lost patience with prosecutors over actions such as not sharing evidence with defense lawyers, once accusing them of “poor advocacy”. But the case accelerated under his watch.
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