An Atlanta jury on Tuesday issued a verdict that largely acquitted Young Thug's two remaining co-defendants in the long-running trial of the alleged YSL gang.
After nearly a year of testimony, jurors found Deamonte “Yak Gotti” Kendrick not guilty of any of the charges he was facing. They found Shannon StillwellI am guilty of only one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, but not guilty of any others.
The verdict, which will allow both men to walk free Tuesday, is a significant loss for the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, which had charged Kendrick and Stillwell with racketeering, murder, firearms and drug charges – accusations that went beyond those leveled against Thug himself. .
After the verdict was read, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker sentenced Stilwell to 10 years in prison, but ordered him to serve only two, which were covered by time he had already served during the lengthy trial. The remaining eight years of his sentence will be served on probation, the judge said.
The verdict came a month after Thug himself recused himself from the case. After the false testimony of a state's witness sparked talk of abuse, Thug's lawyers rejected a deal with prosecutors and opted to simply plead guilty — a gamble that paid off when Whitaker sentenced him to just 15 years of probation with no prison time.
Coupled with Thug's departure, Tuesday's verdict marks the end of a criminal trial that has captivated the music industry for nearly two years. Pitting prosecutors in America's rap capital against one of hip-hop's biggest stars, the YSL case has raised big questions – about the fairness of the criminal justice system. about violent personas in modern hip-hop. and about prosecutors using rap lyrics as evidence.
Kendrick and Stillwell were two of more than two dozen men indicted along with Thug in May 2022. In a sweeping indictment, prosecutors alleged that his “YSL” — nominally a record label that stands for “Young Stoner Life” – was also a violent gang called “Young Slime Life” that had wreaked havoc in the Atlanta area for nearly a decade.
The case, based on Georgia's Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleged that YSL committed murders, carjackings and numerous other crimes. Prosecutors said Thug was “King Slime,” acting as a crime boss amid his rise to fame, but charged Kendrick and Stillwell with some of the most serious crimes — including the murder of rival gang leader Donovan Thomas in 2015 who played a central role in the prosecution's case.
From the beginning, the YSL affair has been beset by delays. Beginning in January 2023, it took an unprecedented 10-month process just to select a jury. After the trial itself began in November 2023, prosecutors waded through a massive witness list that included more than 100 names. Earlier this year, the case was delayed for weeks by a freak incident that resulted in the presiding judge being removed from the case.
Days before Thug pleaded guilty, several of his co-defendants either did the same or took plea deals. But Kendrick and Stillwell rejected the offers and chose to continue the case to trial, leading to Tuesday's verdict.
I think his trial is over, the YSL case is not over. Several other defendants were separated from the case early in the proceedings and could face similar trials in the future.
