YSL RICO Case Could End in Mistrial, Defendants Discuss Plea Deal
The Young Thug YSL RICO case might end in a mistrial following a courtroom blunder and multiple defendants are reportedly discussing plea deals with the Fulton County, Ga. district attorney.
YSL RICO Judge Mulls Over Mistrial
The long and winding racketeering trial against Young Thug and his five codefendants has reached another snag with the proposal of a mistrial during the hearing on Wednesday (Oct. 23). The issue came to light during witness Wunnie Lee’s testimony where he was asked to read an Instagram post aloud in court. The post included the hashtag #FreeQua, which reportedly referenced to Thugger’s incarcerated co-defendant, Marquavius Huey.
The jury is not supposed to be privy to the information that Huey or another codefendant, Quamarvious Nichols, are locked up, which led to the defense calling out the blunder in open court.
“This happened already before and I made a motion for a mistrial,” Lee’s attorney Nicole Westmoreland told Judge Paige Reese Whitaker around the 5:44:00 timestamp of the video below. “Now the jury has repeatedly heard about Mr. Nichols being in jail, being in prison. And you cannot unring that bell. We would ask for a mistrial.”
The other defense attorneys backed the motion. The prosecution pointed out that it was a mistake and that multiple people in the case have a “Qua” prefix in their names. After hearing both sides and chastizing the prosecution for being sloppy, Judge Whitaker initially shot down the idea of a mistrial.
“I’m going to deny a motion for a mistrial with prejudice,” Judge Whitaker decided, meaning the matter cannot be brought up again. “That one I don’t believe the facts bear out. Would you like a mistrial without prejudice?”
The defense first agreed. Then, after being told that could mean the prosecution would pick up the case again and they have to start all over, the defense decided to wait to make a decision.
Read More: Here Are 26 Bizarre Moments in the YSL Trial, the Wildest Trial in Hip-Hop History
Defendants Discuss Plea Deals
On Thursday (Oct. 24), local Atlanta news station WSB-TV reported that multiple defendants in the case are discussing plea deals with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. It is unclear if Young Thug is one of the defendants discussing a plea deal.
Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, is being accused of spearheading a violent street gang, YSL, which moonlighted as a record label. The State is accusing the group of committing a series of crimes including murder, robbery, theft, carjackings, assaults and more dating back over a decade.
XXL has reached out to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and Young Thug’s attorney for comment.
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Check out Day 150 of the YSL RICO trial below.