The District Attorney’s office has revealed a list of 372 potential witnesses in the upcoming YSL and Young Thug RICO trial set to begin on January 9, 2023.
The trial is currently underway, with potential members of the jury being screened on Wednesday. It seems that the prosecution is ready for the trial to begin, as WSB-TV reporter Michael Seidan reported that several rappers could be called to the stand to testify for the prosecution.
According to him, of the lot, many appear to be from law enforcement who worked on the racketeering investigation at various stages over the years. The state is seeking to prosecute 14 defendants, including Young Thug, for a 58-page indictment that includes hundreds of offenses the state claims were committed in Fulton County from 2012-2022 by YSL gang members.
There are at least 157 witnesses with connection to the Atlanta police department, while 62 are from other collaborating agencies that investigated the defendants.
There are also 125 lay witnesses, which include some of Hip Hop’s bigwigs like Lil Wayne, who previously had a beef with Young Thug, as well as Birdman, his rival YFN Lucci. Lucci’s attorney had denied he was a state witness, but his name is still on the prosecution list. Lucci’s beef with Thug is widely documented, and the state claims that the crimes committed by YSL began with the death of Lucci’s manager Donovan Thomas who was murdered by YSL in 2015. The state alleges that Young Thug had rented the car that was used by gang members to kill Thomas. He is also accused of making an attempt on the life of Lucci’s mother during a drive-by shooting and then rapping about it and boasting about it on Instagram.
Other witnesses include Alexis “Dolly” Grier, Young Thug’s sister, and Rich Homie Quan, who are expected to give adverse testimony against the rapper.
In the meantime, the trial is not short of celebrity witnesses, as it appears that quite a few of Atlanta’s biggest celebrities are named as witnesses. Miles Farley, a co-defendant, has also revealed his defense witnesses, which include rappers T.I., Future, and Trippie Redd.
On Tuesday, Young Thug’s witness list was released, naming Killer Mike, Lyor Cohen, and Jerrika Karlae, Thug’s fiancé, as among a list of dozens of witnesses.
So far, it’s unclear if any of the eight defendants who accepted plea deals ahead of the trial will testify. As part of their plea deals, many, including Gunna and Thug’s brother Unfoonk agreed to testify if called upon, but only a few have the right to plea the fifth.
Those include Gunna and Walter Murphy, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO act. Others who have more charges with significant evidence against them have been sentenced to years of probation and waived their right to plead the fifth and won’t be allowed to assert it at trial if called to testify.
The official prosecution list has not been released to the public.
