Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was released after being sentenced to time served in a significant case involving many defendants. He was released Thursday night after spending over 900 days in custody, as ind
icated by jail records. As part of a non-negotiated plea agreement, he will serve 15 years on probation. On Thursday, Williams entered a non-negotiated guilty plea to several charges, including firearm possession and participation in criminal street gang activity, and pleaded no contest to racketeering and leading a criminal street gang. This case is noted as the longest in Georgia’s history. In 2022, Williams was charged alongside more than two dozen others under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Prosecutors claimed he led a criminal street gang involved in murder and various violent crimes in Atlanta over the past decade. Williams has denied being the leader of a criminal enterprise. They argued that YSL, the acronym for Young Stoner Life Records, also stood for Young Slime Life, a criminal street gang linked to the national Bloods gang.
Prosecutors aimed to prove Young Thug was the leader of YSL and participated in crimes committed by its members, including a 2015 fatal shooting of an alleged rival gang member. Prosecutors claimed he rented a car used by YSL members during the killing. Several other defendants, such as rapper Gunna, took plea deals or had their cases separated from the trial. Young Thug was one of six defendants on trial together and had been in jail since his May 2022 arrest. Williams pleaded guilty to six charges: one count of participation in criminal street gang activity, three counts of violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, one count of firearm possession during the commission of a felony, and one count of possession of a machine gun. Although he pleaded no contest to some charges, he could still be sentenced as if he had pleaded guilty. When asked by the judge if he wanted to make a statement on Thursday, Williams accepted full responsibility, apologized to his family, and asked to be allowed to go home. He expressed regret over his past actions and emphasized his desire to change. He mentioned the free concerts he has hosted and the money he has donated to single parents and related charities. Before sentencing, the judge encouraged Williams to be more of a solution than a problem. The case faced criticism over the use of rap lyrics as evidence of the gang’s actions, which some argued was a violation of freedom of speech and artistic expression. Williams acknowledged the potential impact of rap lyrics and promised to change.
The judge ordered Williams to stay away from the metropolitan Atlanta area for the first 10 years of his probation, except for weddings, funerals, and graduations, from which he must depart within 48 hours. He is required to return to the area four times a year to host anti-gang and anti-gun presentations and must complete 100 hours of community service each year of his probation. He is also forbidden from knowingly contacting members or associates of any criminal street gang. Williams could have faced a maximum sentence of 120 years if convicted on all charges. The lengthy case included multiple motions for a mistrial, with jury selection alone taking over a year. This week, three codefendants in the YSL racketeering trial accepted plea deals. Rodalius Ryan, known as “Lil Rod,” and Marquavious Huey, known as “Qua,” pleaded guilty to charges of violating the state’s RICO Act. Ryan accepted a 10-year prison sentence, commuted to time served, with other charges dropped. Ryan is serving a life sentence for a separate murder case, with the prison times running concurrently. Huey admitted guilt to multiple charges and received a 25-year sentence, with nine years in custody, nine years on probation, and five years suspended. Quamarvious Nichols, also known as “Qua,” accepted a plea deal for conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. He was sentenced to 20 years, with seven years to be served in custody and the remainder on probation, with multiple counts, including murder, dismissed. None of the three individuals who pleaded guilty are required to testify against the remaining codefendants, including Young Thug, the primary target of the case.
