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Young Thug pleads guilty in racketeering trial, sentenced to probation

Posted on by Vaseline

Topline

Rapper Young Thug will be released after accepting a plea deal in his lengthy racketeering case on Thursday, according to multiple sources, although he will serve at least 15 years of probation.

Key facts

Young Thug, officially known as Jeffery Williams, pleaded guilty to three drug charges, two gun charges and one gang charge.

Williams also entered a plea to one count of racketeering conspiracy and a separate gang charge, which could see him punished for the criminal charges.

Williams’ sentence is a far cry from the sentence prosecutors initially sought, as the state of Georgia had previously recommended a 45-year prison sentence, including 25 years in prison and 20 years of probation.

Williams and his defense agreed to the 15-year probation deal after considering a non-negotiated plea deal earlier Thursday, which would have resulted in Georgia Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker deciding his sentence based on recommendations from both sides .

Williams will also have to stay out of metro Atlanta for the first 10 years of his probation, give anti-gang presentations to children four times a year and perform 100 hours of community service annually.

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Surprising fact

Williams’ extortion case was the longest-running criminal trial in the history of the state of Georgia, as jury selection for the trial began in January 2023, according to NBC News. The rapper has been in prison since May 2022.

Important background

Williams is a Grammy Award-winning rapper and the founder of his own record label, Young Stoner Life, which later became the subject of investigation in his trial because prosecutors believed it overlapped with a criminal gang. Williams was indicted in 2022 along with more than two dozen co-defendants for alleged gang activity. Members of the gang known as Young Slime Life were charged with murder, drug trafficking and armed robbery. As of November 2023, six co-defendants remained, many of whom accepted plea deals or asked to be tried separately ahead of opening statements in Williams’ case. Three of Williams’ co-defendants also reached plea agreements this week, NBC News reported.

Read more

Young Thug pleads guilty in YSL case, nearly a year in trial (The New York Times)

Young Thug turns plea to guilty in Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial (NBC)