As jurors continued their deliberations in the extensive racketeering case that had included rap sensation Young Thug, one of the two co-defendants in Georgia’s longest-running criminal prosecution was stabbed in jail, according to his attorney on Monday morning.
In a TikTok clip, Douglas Weinstein, the attorney for rapper Deamonte Kendrick, better known by his stage name Yak Gotti, revealed that he was stabbed in the south annex of the Fulton County Jail. He spoke with him Sunday night as he was waiting to be taken to a hospital for sutures.
Weinstein wrote on X, “Even though he sounded exhausted, I expect him to make a full recovery.” “I expect to be able to see him in court today and will know more then.”
The incident’s origins and the severity of Kendrick’s injuries were not immediately clear to Weinstein.
According to a statement from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Kendrick had a physical fight with another prisoner and needed “treatment for minor injuries from a sharp object at the Fulton County Jail.”
According to Natalie Ammons, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, “this is an active investigation to determine the aggressor in this incident and if charges will be pending,”
The Justice Department last month announced a federal investigation into the Fulton County Jail, including its south annex and two other locations, alleging that administrators have permitted horrible living conditions and widespread violence and that inmates’ civil rights are being violated. The report claims that over 300 stabbings involving illegal items and homemade weapons occurred last year. After an inmate was discovered dead in a cell infected with bed bugs in 2022, the study was initiated; Fulton County officials have stated that they are attempting to resolve the concerns brought up.
In the meantime, jurors in the case against Kendrick and co-defendant Shannon Stillwell, who are facing several charges related to the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, act, returned to the courtroom Monday morning to render a verdict on the men’s fate. Last Tuesday afternoon, the discussions got underway.
Initially, there were 28 co-defendants in the case, including Young Thug, who was charged by Fulton County prosecutors in a 2022 indictment with being the leader of the Atlanta street gang Young Slime Life, or YSL. (In 2016, Young Thug established YSL Records, his own label.)
After several defendants accepted plea deals and others decided to stand trial apart from Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, the trial against the co-defendants began in January 2023 but continued through numerous delays and unexpected turns.
Six co-defendants gave their opening remarks in November 2023. Prosecutors have used the Grammy-winning rapper’s song lyrics to allege violent and illegal acts, as well as strange moments involving alleged drug exchanges, uncooperative star witnesses, and combative incidents involving the previous judge. The proceedings have been livestreamed and have captured the attention of social media users.
The trial was further postponed when Stillwell was stabbed during a dispute in jail in December 2023.
In July, the trial was once more put on hold after the original trial judge was dismissed following a private conference with prosecutors and a key witness that excluded defense attorneys. The trial then started to fall apart in October after a prosecutor made a mistake during a witness’s evidence, which might have resulted in a mistrial.
Young Thug was one of four of the six co-defendants who signed plea deals.The rapper’s 40-year sentence was shortened to time served and he was given 15 years of probation after striking a bargain.
The previous longest criminal trial in Georgia, which lasted almost eight months, featured public school teachers in Atlanta who were charged with racketeering in a cheating scheme.
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