A plea deal by Trontavious Stephens might be very damaging for Atlanta rapper Young Thug as Stephens acknowledged in court that he was a co-founder of YSL and that the organization is a gang.
On Thursday, the court was to hear from three YSL associates who had accepted plea deals, but after arriving at court, two of the three- Tenquarius Mender, also called Nard and Derontae Bebee both declined the plea deals.
After confirming that they were not willing to accept the deals, judge Ural Glanville warned the men that if convicted, they would get the maximum sentence. Tenquarius is reportedly facing 50 years in jail if convicted.
The third YSL associate, Trontavious Stephens, accepted the deal and revealed shocking evidence that is likely to be used in the upcoming trial about Young Thug’s alleged leadership of the YSL gang.
According to Law & Crime reporter Cathy Russon, Trontavious, who also goes by the names Tick and Slug, accepted a plea deal for two counts on racketeering charges and was sentenced to 10 years with two years served and the remaining eight years on probation.
Stephens affirmed to prosecutors that YSL was a gang made up of three or more associates and that he was one of the founding members of YSL.
“Do you understand the factual acknowledgments that you acknowledge, that one is that Young Slime Life is an organization made up of three or more members or associates who share common identifiers that include but are not limited to colours, hand signals and terminologies, who have committed crimes to increase their notoriety, street credibility, and reputation of YSL, is that one of your acknowledgements?” the prosecutor Adriane Love asked Stephens to which he calmly responded, “yes.”
“You are one of the founding members of Young Slime Life?” she asked.
“Yes,” Stephens replied.
“Do you acknowledge that you committed an aggravated assault as alleged in count one of this indictment by brandishing a gun at an undercover police officer that was surveilling a vehicle that was hijacked from a woman?”
“Yes,” Stephens said.
Stephens also acknowledged that after he was arrested in 2014 for another incident, he had admitted he was part of a gang called “Rock Crew,” and that crew later changed its name to YSL.
“That group was no longer going by that name and now goes by Young Slime Life… did you also in that same conversation advise law enforcement that YSL originally stand for Young Slime Life but the group began calling itself Young Successful Lifestyle after Jeffery Williams aka Young Thug signed a record deal,” the prosecutor to which Stephens said “yes.”
More on plea: Stephens agrees to testify truthfully at trial & can't assert 5th.He admits YSL is a gang, that he is one of the founding members. He says YSL changed name from Young Slime Life to Young Successful Lifestyle after Jeffrey Williams aka #YoungThug signed a record deal pic.twitter.com/TudVDgHiMd
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) December 29, 2022
In the meantime, Stephens has agreed to testify at trial, but unlike his counterparts, he is not allowed to assert his right against self-incrimination (Fifth Amendment rights).
Meanwhile, the prosecution also shared evidence against Stephens, particularly one song by Young Thug, “You,” where the rapper raps about robbing women- “she getting robbed by Tick,” confirming that the rapper spoke about the gang’s crimes in his music.
There is also more incriminating evidence in the form of text messages shared between Young Thug and Stephens.
In one text, Young Thug asked, “Y’all ain’t beat him up or shot him yet?” and then added, “Y’all getting soft,” in another text.
Further on in his proffer, the prosecutor revealed that Stephens identified two gas stations where YSL associates sell drugs.
In the meantime, the bombshell plea deal comes ahead of the jury selection scheduled for January 4, 2023, followed by the trial beginning on January 9, 2023.
Gunna is among the first YSL associates to take a plea deal and has since been released from prison.
