American rapper, Young Thug has been fingered as the leader of a criminal street gang that murdered and committed a slew of violent crimes in the Atlanta area over the past decade , a court heard today, as his long-awaited racketeering trial finally got underway.
Georgia state prosecutor Adraine Love claimed the Grammy award winner accumulated drugs, cars, and guns as his followers competed to win favor by murdering, stealing, and hijacking in a decade-long spree.
His record label Young Stoner Life was just a front for ‘Young Slime Life’, a street gang affiliated with the LA-based Bloods gang, while the rapper was known to his followers as ‘King Slime’, she claimed.
Young Thug, real name Jeffrey Williams, faces up to 20 years in jail in front of the same Fulton County team that is also prosecuting ex-president Donald Trump under the same racketeering laws.
‘They created a crater in the middle of Fulton County’s Cleveland Avenue community that sucked in the youth, the innocence and even the lives of some of its youngest members,’ Love said.
And she warned Williams that his own violent rap lyrics would be used in evidence against him.
‘Law enforcement didn’t chase the lyrics to solve the murders, law enforcement chased the murders and found the lyrics,’ she said.
Stars including rappers Lil Wayne and Killer Mike are expected to give evidence in one of the most eagerly anticipated trials of the decade.
The 32-year-old rapper was arrested and charged in May last year but jury selection alone took nearly 10 months amid farcical pre-trial scenes that saw one attorney led out in handcuffs and Williams accused of buying drugs as he sat in the dock.
The bizarre theme continued in court on Monday as judge Ural Glanville ordered the court not to throw food to his service dog seated behind the bench.
Wearing a black tie and spectacles, Williams listened intently as Love described how he became the ‘proclaimed leader’ of YSL after it split from the Cleveland-based ROC Crew in 2012.
‘The evidence will show that these defendants, that the members and associates of YSL, they knew who their leader was and they knew the repercussions of not obeying their leader,’ she said.
‘You will hear evidence that when members and associates of YSL got in trouble, got locked up, the first person they called was either Williams or one of his family members.’
She produced graphic photos of men allegedly killed by YSL members, as well as lyrics that ‘bore a very eerie significance’ to crimes that took place.
And she said it was Williams who hired the getaway car used when rival gang member Donovan Thomas was gunned down in 2015.
‘You’ll hear evidence that after the murder of Donovan Thomas, no less than 50 shootings occurred over the course of the next several months,’ she added.
‘You’ll hear evidence that hundreds, hundreds of bullets were fired into cars, into homes, and into people as a result of the rift Young Slime Life had with other people in the community.’
She said a whistleblower will testify that Williams paid them to ‘go to Miami and lay low in the wake of Donovan Thomas’ murder,’ but she admitted that the dynamic which sustained the gang was largely ‘unspoken’.
‘The state is alleging that these defendants had an agreement, unspoken but no less an agreement, to obtain property, things of value, cell phones, cars, stolen guns, through a pattern of illegal activity,’ she explained.
And she said that Williams ‘knew he needed to have distance between himself and the crimes members and associates of YSL were committing on behalf of the gang.’
Williams was one of 28 alleged gang members originally arrested last year and charged under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Some have since accepted plea deals but Marquavius Huey, Deamonte Kendrick, Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan and Shannon Stillwell are facing trial alongside their alleged leader.
Williams, who has collaborated with stars including Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, Drake, and Childish Gambino has continued producing music behind bars since his arrest and released his chart-topping ‘Business is Business’ album this summer.
