More drama ensued in court on Thursday morning after Fulton County Deputies arrested a lawyer in the ongoing Young Thug and his Young Slime Life (YSL) trial for assault and possession of prescription pills in court.
This week has been full of issues, from attorneys getting punished with contempt of court for violating court rules to a defendant being snatched up in the middle of proceedings and now, an attorney being arrested before the court convenes.
According to news reports, one of the lawyers facing 20 days in jail for contempt of court, Anastassios Manettas, was handcuffed and arrested by deputies for assault on Thursday morning.
Manettas, who is representing defendant Miles Farley, was arrested during a standard bag search procedure that reporters say started to be implemented by deputies this week.
A photograph shared by reporters from Law & Crime shows the attorney standing handcuffed as a deputy holds onto him. Manetta’s arrest stems from his possessing a bottle of prescription medication not in its original container found during a security search of his bag. He is also charged with obstruction and disruption of court proceedings, simple battery of a law enforcement officer, and possession of contraband in relation to the pills.
Sheriff Pat Labat is quoted by reporters saying that the attorney had thrown his cell phone at a captain. However, observers in the courtroom, including another lawyer, Suri Chadha Jimenez, said that he tried to throw his phone to a colleague while he was detained.
Thursday’s drama follows a meltdown by one of the defendants that led to court being adjourned early. Defendant Rodalius Ryan, aka Lil Rod, was reportedly snatched up during the proceedings without warning, and he was heard screaming in a back room, leaving the court hearing in chaos.
The Sheriff said that Ryan was taken out of court and searched because he “smelled” of weed. He was reportedly found wearing two pairs of boxers, one of which had two bags containing marijuana sewn into it to prevent detection.
One of Anastasios’ colleagues just sent me this picture of him in handcuffs. pic.twitter.com/fZgXTKnHsg
— Shaddi Abusaid (@ShaddiAbusaid) April 20, 2023
Meanwhile, that was not the end of things as Manettas’ client Miles Farley was severed from the indictment when the court reconvened, leaving 13 defendants in the trial, the AJC reported.
According to Judge Ural Glanville, the court is severing Farley on its own motion.
“It has been brought to the court’s attention that Mr. Manettas has been taken into custody this morning and I don’t know what that process kinda play out. However, due to that particular issue, the court is gonna go ahead and sever Mr. Farley on its own motion. I’m doing that based on a couple of cases…which basically state both cases read in tandem…the trial court has discretion to sever even on my own motion um prior to trial since we have not empanelled the jury and they haven’t been sworn, I’m gonna exercise that particular discretion on the court’s behalf,” Glanville said.
This week, a defiant Manettas was ordered to buy lunch for his colleagues by March 17th from a restaurant called Jason’s Deli by Judge Glanville. The attorney was previously cited for contempt of court and fined $250, which he paid, and ordered to buy the lunches. The attorney did not complete the second part of the order, and it seems that he was ready to take the consequences of going to jail, as he’s done in a previous case.
In the meantime, observers online felt that the latest development in the case seems to stem from the judge having a “dislike” for Manettas.
“So lawyer has a issue w the judge, judge “orders” him to buy lunch, next day a unprecedented policy of searching bags of lawyers is implemented, and the day after the same lawyer who the judge dislikes is arrested by officers under the judges control for “prescription meds” ok…” one person commented on Twitter.
“What’s going on in that courtroom? Attorneys owing lunch, getting arrested, jurors in contempt of court…Is it the water over there?” another asked.
