Two defendants in the ongoing YSL RICO trial were denied bail on Friday after making another bid for freedom as the case continues. Young Thug and Yak Gotti were unsuccessful as they both petitioned the court for a bond, a third time since their arrest more than a year ago.
According to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Jozsef Papp, Judge Ural Glanville denied bond for Young Thug despite an ardent plea by his attorney Brian Steel.
The rapper also had presented two character witnesses willing to vouch for him to the court, one of whom was Kevin Liles, Chief Executive Officer of 300 Entertainment, who joined the session via Zoom.
While presenting to the judge, Steel said that the rapper was an accomplished “superstar” in the music industry and that he would maintain gainful employment if released on bond. According to the attorney, Thug’s recent album ‘Business is Business’ released earlier this month, proves that he has the will to work and be productive should he be released.
The lawyer also revealed that the artist’s health was failing due to the conditions of being locked up and shared that Thug’s recent emergency that saw him being rushed to the hospital stemmed from him having kidney problems. The rapper, he says, has chronic pain due to his kidneys, and his health is impacted further by the quality of the food in jail which is “dangerous for his health” and has resulted in “tremendous” weight gain.
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, is also unable to exercise and maintain his fitness inside Cobb County Jail, where he is being held, Steel said.
Despite the arguments, the rapper was denied bond by Judge Glanville, who sided with prosecutors that the rapper posed a danger to the community and witnesses in the case and that he was a flight risk.
Young Thug’s co-defendant Deamonte Kendrick also known as Yak Gotti, was also denied bond for the same reasons as Thug.
In the meantime, the YSL trial is progressing as the first stage of jury selection has been done, and the court moves onto the voir dire stage, where each potential juror selected from the first round will be questioned as to their suitability to become a juror.
So far, 751 jurors have been selected, and each will be individually questioned and accepted by either the defense or the prosecution. It is speculated that this process which started on July 19, will take another 6-9 months before the final panel of 12 and alternate jurors are selected for the trial.
The jury selection process started on January 9 this year. The trial is expected to last between six (6) months to a year.
