Rapper 'Yak Gotti' Found Not Guilty In Long-Running YSL Gang Trial
HuffPost
The gang and racketeering trial in Atlanta that saw Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug plead guilty to gang, drug and gun charges has ended.
ATLANTA (AP) — The long-running gang and racketeering trial in Atlanta that led rapper Young Thug to plead guilty in October ended on Tuesday with a jury finding the last two defendants not guilty of murder and gang-related charges.
Deamonte Kendrick, who raps as Yak Gotti, was acquitted of all charges and Shannon Stillwell was found guilty only of a gun possession charge. The verdicts came nearly two years after jury selection began and a year after opening statements in a trial plagued with problems.
The original, sweeping indictment charged 28 people with conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and used song lyrics and social media posts as evidence. Young Thug, a Grammy-winning artist whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was set free on probation after he pleaded guilty in October to gang, drug and gun charges when negotiations with prosecutors broke down.
Kendrick and Stillwell were charged in the 2015 killing of Donovan Thomas Jr., also known as “Big Nut,” who prosecutors say was in a rival gang. Stillwell was also charged in the 2022 death of Shymel Drinks, who prosecutors say was killed in retaliation for the killings days earlier of two associates in a gang known as YSL, which they say was co-founded by Young Thug.
Thomas was killed in a drive-by shooting outside an Atlanta barbershop. In the other killing, prosecutors alleged Stillwell pulled up next to Drinks and shot three rounds into his car.
Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley spoke with lawmakers on Thursday about the recent attacks on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
"Wait, what??????" Katie Couric wrote in response to Kirk's opinion.
The GOP senator claims it was “entirely lawful” that the U.S. military launched a follow-up strike to kill survivors of its first strike in the Sept. 2 attack.
The report comes as the defense secretary is engulfed in a controversy over a “double tap” strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat.
The president's holiday-like fantasy is getting roasted by critics.
The case had frustrated authorities for years as they had failed to identify the person responsible for placing the bombs.
Sydney Sweeney entered the Fox News conversation that came to an eye-rolling conclusion.
The lawsuit accuses the Defense Department of violating reporters' First Amendment rights.
“It’s become quite a messy and toxic situation,” a Eurovision expert said.
The Duke of Sussex jabbed the president during a Hallmark-inspired comedy bit with host Stephen Colbert.
The illustrated image is... something.
“These are serious charges, and that’s the reason we’re going to have special oversight,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The network's senior medical analyst put an inventive twist on the president's drowsy appearance during his Cabinet meeting.