FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Hip-hop superstar and rapper Young Thug will remain in jail after the new judge on the case denied his motion for bond.
The rapper, whose name is Jeffery Williams, has been in jail since 2022 for a sprawling Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act indictment in Fulton County.
Channel 2 Action News was at the Fulton County courthouse Tuesday, where the latest denial of bond was just one of several developments in what’s become the longest trial in Georiga history.
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Williams has been behind bars since May of 2022. His attorney, Brian Steel, made the argument in court that the trial has gone on for far too long because of reasons beyond his client’s control and said that Williams won’t flee if granted bond.
“There is no reason to believe that Mr Williams is fleeing. He would be crazy,” Steel said. “He has the strongest ties to the community and the backing of wonderful people.”
Steel argued that his client is not a flight risk, but Judge Paige Reese Whitaker said she won’t override a previous judge’s decision unless there are extraordinary changes in circumstance.
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“I’m not going to reconsider any bond issues that have already been considered and ruled upon by another court absent legitimate changed circumstances, so that motion is denied,” Whitaker said in court Tuesday.
The RICO gang case against the rapper and his alleged associates the Young Slime Life gang, has been underway for 19 months in Fulton County.
Tuesday was the first day back in court with Whitaker presiding, the third judge appointed to the case since its start.
Whitaker is using this week to rule on a number of motions filed by both defense attorneys and prosecutors, including motions for mistrial and bond.
Several people in Young Thug’s side of the court told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that they thought Whitaker would side with him.
Instead, she denied his motion for bond, visibly disappointing his family and friends in the courtroom.
Doug Weinstein, a defense attorney in the case, said they’ll win the case no matter what, but still think there should be a mistrial.
“I have no interest in retrying the case and we are winning by any measure so I’m asking for this retrial because I don’t think I have any other choice but to do that, Your Honor,” Weinstein said in court.
On the flip side, prosecutors say they’re objecting to plans for a mistrial.
“If they’re winning, then let’s just keep it rolling because the state vehemently objects to a mistrial,” Adriane Love, a prosecutor, said.
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