Gang and racketeering case The trial in Atlanta, which previously involved rap music star Young Thug, ended Tuesday when a jury found the final two defendants not guilty of murder and gang-related charges in the culmination of Georgia's longest criminal trial.
Demonte Kendrick, who raps as Yak Gotti, was acquitted of all charges. Shannon Stillwell was found guilty only of gun possession charges.
The verdicts come nearly two years after jury selection began and a year after opening statements were delivered in a trial plagued by problems.
Kendrick appeared in court this week despite stabbed and injured Sunday in jail, his attorney Doug Weinstein confirmed. Weinstein said in a social media post that he hoped Kendrick, who “looked exhausted” when speaking in the wake of the incident, “will make a full recovery.” The incident comes nearly a year after Stillwell was also stabbed inside the prison, CBS News affiliate WANF reports.
original, comprehensive indictment Charged 28 people with conspiracy to violate Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and used song lyrics and social media posts as evidence. Young Thug, a Grammy-winning artist whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, was freed on probation after pleaded guilty in October Gang, drug and gun charges as talks break down with prosecutors.
Kendrick and Stilwell are charged with the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas Jr., also known as “Big Nat,” who prosecutors say was in a rival gang. Stillwell was also charged in the 2022 death of Shimel Drinks, who prosecutors say was killed in retaliation for the murders of two associates in a gang called YSL, which they say was co-founded by Young Thug. Was done.
Thomas was killed in the shooting outside an Atlanta barbershop. In the second murder, prosecutors alleged that Stilwell pulled up next to Drinks and fired three shots into his car.
Stilwell was sentenced to the maximum of 10 years for firearms possession because he was a convicted felon, having previously been convicted of a gun-related crime, of which he had already served two years and the remainder to be served. Had to be put on probation.
While a total of four defendants pleaded guilty before the end of the trial, the verdict for the final two was a major blow to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Critics had criticized his use of the state's anti-racketeering law, which he also used to bring charges against President-elect Donald Trump for efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“We always respect the jury's verdict,” said Jeff DeSantis, a spokesman for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Defense attorneys criticized the state for relying on the song's lyrics, saying that these were among the flawed evidence that prosecutors used, combined with selective social media posts and unreliable witnesses, to create a misleading narrative about the youth. Who turned to music to escape financial hardships and a difficult past.
Prosecutors say Williams and two others founded Young Slime Life in 2012, which they say was linked to the National Bloods gang. The 33-year-old artist also has a record label called Young Stoner Life. Kendricks is featured on two of the label's compilation album Slime Language 2's most popular songs, “Take It to Trial” and “Slattery”, as well as Young Thug's “Slim Sh–t”, which prosecutors used as evidence at trial. Presented as.
Williams entered a risky “blind” plea in October – meaning he pleaded guilty without consent at his sentencing. Judge Paige Reese Whitaker let him out of prison on probation with strict restrictions, including a 10-year ban from metro Atlanta except on certain occasions.
The lawsuit has been fraught with problems and delays and has rocked the rap scene in Atlanta, where Williams grew up in a housing project plagued by violence.
While the defendants had committed crimes in the past, defense lawyer Max Skard said it was to make money for themselves in communities deprived of economic opportunity – not to further a gang. And music allowed some of them to move forward.
“Overall, we know the struggles of these communities,” Schardt said. “A sad, tacit acceptance that it's either rape, jail or death.”
Schardt sought to cast doubt on gang investigators and YSL associates brought in as witnesses by the state. Several alleged YSL members testified that they lied to police to stay out of jail, and Schardt said that officers threatened them with long prison sentences if they did not tell the truth. He suggested that one of those witnesses may have murdered Thomas.
Jury selection for the trial took approximately 10 months. Nine people charged in the indictment accepted plea deals before the trial began. Charges are pending against 12 others. Prosecutors dropped charges against a defendant after he was convicted of murder in an unrelated case.