After many interruptions and miscues during the Young Thug RICO trial in Atlanta, the recording artist has entered a guilty plea to several charges, ending the longest criminal trial in Georgia history.
According to NPR, Jeffrey Williams, known to the world as Young Thug, pleaded guilty on Oct. 31 after prosecutors requested that he be sentenced to 45 years, 25 in prison and 20 on probation. Instead, Fulton County Judge Paige Reese Whitaker allowed the rapper to go free, with conditions. “The total sentence is 40 years, to serve the first 5 years in prison but commuted to the time you’ve already served.”
CNN reported that Young Thug agreed to enter a non-negotiated guilty plea deal. Some of the charges included firearm possession and participation in criminal street gang activity, and he also pleaded no contest to racketeering and leading a criminal street gang. He was in custody for more than 900 days after he was initially booked in May 2022. He was one of 28 people named in a 56-count indictment.
The freed rapper made a statement to the court after agreeing to the terms the judge handed him.
Thug took “full responsibility” and apologized to his family and immediate circle.
“I am a smart guy, I am a good guy, and I really got a good heart. I found myself in a lot of stuff because I was just nice and cool, and I understand you can’t be that way when you reach a certain height because it could end bad.”
Thug promised Judge Whitaker that she would not see him again unless they happened to be at the same bar in the future. He told the judge that he had learned from his mistakes.
Although his freedom was on the line and he was incarcerated for the past two years, Thug expressed to the judge that her taking over the trial was “the best thing” that had happened to him because she had been fairer than the previous judge and the prosecutors involved in the case. After acknowledging that the court staff had put in extra time to work the trial, he asked the judge to allow him to go home to his family.
The “Go Crazy” rapper then told the judge that he understood his rise in the hip-hop game comes with the responsibility of being a positive role model for his community.
“I know what I bring to the table and I know what I am,” he stated. “I know the heights I’ve reached and I know the impact I’ve got on people in the community.”
In mentioning his community involvement, Thug told Judge Whitaker about doing free shows and giving back. He once gave $1.8 million to a charity that supports single parents. Thug also told the judge about contributions he made to a breast cancer organization by doing “like two or three shows that made like $700,000 apiece” while putting “millions of dollars back into my community for real.”
In his final plea, he tried to make her understand the environment he was raised in. He also assured her that he had grown up and would do better, even in his music, to showcase the positive aspects of life instead of the negative ones he rapped about previously.
Before handing Thug his sentence, Judge Whitaker stated, “I want you to be more of the solution and less of the problem.”
Her last statement to him included a warning and a wish for luck in his latest opportunity to keep his nose clean.
“Good luck to you. There better be no violations, but if there are any, you’re coming back to see me.”
The conditions Thug agreed to include no longer residing in Atlanta for the first 10 years and not being present in the city unless it is essential for family functions like weddings and/or funerals. While on probation, he has to perform community service several times a year.
Variety reported that three of Thug’s co-defendants, Rodalius Ryan (aka Lil Rod), Quamarvious Nichols (aka Qua), and Marquavius Huey (aka Qua) took pleas of their own earlier this week. Ryan, who is currently imprisoned for life for a previous murder case, pled guilty to a conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. His 10-year sentence has been commuted to time served. Nichols was sentenced to 20 years in prison after having several charges dropped; he is also required to serve seven years on probation. Huey had some of the charges against him dropped or reduced. He was sentenced to 25 years, of which only nine will be served in prison.
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