The two remaining co-defendants involved in Young Thug’s RICO trial were acquitted of murder charges on Tuesday (December 3), putting an end to the longest-running criminal trial in Georgia state history.
Yak Gotti was found not guilty of all six charges he was facing. After the verdict was read, he reportedly hung his head and made the sign of the cross as attorney Doug Weinstein wrapped his arms around him. The second remaining co-defendant, Shannon Stillwell, was convicted of one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon but found not guilty of his six remaining charges. He also hugged his lawyer, Max Schardt, right before he was sentenced to time served and probation.
Yak Gotti and Stillwell were originally charged with the fatal 2015 drive-by shooting of Donovan Thomas Jr. Stillwell was also charged with the March 2022 shooting death of Shymel Drinks.
Comprised of eight women and four men, the jury began hearing evidence in November 2023 following a 10-month jury selection process. Following closing arguments last week, they started deliberations shortly before Thanksgiving and took just over 15 hours to reach a verdict.
Young Thug initially pleaded not guilty and emphatically denied being the leader of a violent street gang that ran the Cleveland Avenue community. The trial dragged on for months, marred by mistake after mistake. It boiled over when Williams’ defense lawyer Brian Steel was arrested on a contempt charge (although it was later dropped). Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville was also involuntarily recused from the case over his mishandling of a secret meeting with a key witness.
In late October, three other co-defendants pleaded out with lighter sentences than expected just as Judge Paige Reese Whitaker was on the verge of declaring a mistrial, which looked good for Thug’s outcome. Sure enough, Young Thug soon pleaded “no contest” to racketeering conspiracy and participation in a criminal street gang in a leadership role. He then pleaded guilty to three drug charges, two gun charges and one lesser gang charge.
Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love urged the court to reject the “no contest” pleas, but Judge Whitaker allowed them anyway. Young Thug was sentenced on the spot to 15 years of probation and released, although if he violates the terms of his probation in any way, he’ll receive a “backloaded” sentence of 20 years.
Young Thug’s father, Jeffrey Williams Sr., condemned the probation terms, which notably includes a ban from residing in the Atlanta Metro area.
“I feel great that he’s going home,” Williams Sr. told local reporters. “But at the same token, I still wanted to fight. But that’s his decision. On the other hand, I raised him to be the man that he is. I’ve always been in his life from a pup to now, and I’m going to continue to be in his life and as an adult.”
Williams Sr. explained why he thinks the terms of Thug’s probation are particularly “offensive,” especially when it comes to the restriction on his son’s return to his hometown.
“I’m totally against that because this is where he’s from,” he said. “And to have a district attorney take that away from him that isn’t a residence from here, she’s from another state, and to see her take a man away from where he’s from, to have to go live somewhere else, that’s offensive to me.”
