Atlanta court denies bail for rapper Young Thug, as judge declares he is a ‘danger to the community’, after his arrest in May, accused of being ‘top dog’ in street gang Young Slime Life that committed multiple murders
Atlanta rapper Jeffery Lamar Williams, aka Young Thug, was denied bail Thursday after a month behind bars
Fulton County Judge says he is a ‘danger to the community’
Thug was arrested on May 9, accused of being ‘top dog’ in street gang Young Slime Life that committed multiple murders
The 30-year-old Grammy winner committed spate of violent crimes, prosecutors saidÂ
He has been accused of renting the vehicle used in gangland killing of a rival gang member
Prosecutors argued Williams is the head of a violent street gang called Young Slime Life that he cofounded
Judge denied him bail because is is seen as a ‘danger to the community’Â
A court in Georgia denied bail Thursday evening for rapper Young Thug, who was arrested last month and accused of being the ‘top dog’ in street gang Young Slime Life that committed multiple murders.
The Atlanta rapper, whose name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, was arrested Monday, May 9, 2022, in Georgia on conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO act and street gang charges, according to jail records
The judge said there was a ‘significant concern’ the Atlanta rapper, 30, will be a danger to the community.
Young Thug was accused of conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and participation in a criminal street gang.
Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville handed down the ruling saying he has significant concerns about the entertainer being a danger to the community, news outlets reported.
Prosecutors argued Williams is the head of a violent street gang called Young Slime Life that he cofounded.
The gang committed multiple murders, shootings and carjackings over roughly a decade and promoted its activities in songs and on social media, prosecutors allege in an 88-page indictment that charges Young Thug, another Atlanta hip hop artiste Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, better known by his stage name ‘Gunna’ and aspiring rapper Christian Eppinger, aka ‘Big Bhris’, along with 24 others, with racketeering.
Eppinger was already in jail, accused of shooting an Atlanta police officer six times in February.
Young Thug, prosecutors said Thursday, is ‘the top dog, the most dangerous man here, because he doesn’t have to get his hands dirty, he has others to do his business,’ Atlanta station WXIA-TV reported.
Williams has been in custody since his arrest last month at his home in an upscale neighborhood north of downtown Atlanta.
His attorneys presented several witnesses to counter the image prosecutors painted, pointing to the musician’s community involvement.
Music executive Kevin Liles testified that Williams was ‘like a son’ and he was willing to put up his own wealth and business behind a bond.
The rapper, he said, ‘is not just an artist – he’s an influencer, a person I think was put here to change the people around him’ and a ‘contributing citizen to this world.’
Young Thug co-wrote the hit ‘This is America’ with Childish Gambino, making history when it became the first hip-hop track to win the song of the year Grammy in 2019.
An expected trial date, the judge said, would be January 9, 2023.
In a related development, an 18-year-old is behind bars after officials said he threatened Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat and his wife over a sprawling gang indictment charging more than two dozen people, including rapper Young Thug.
Quartavius Mender was booked into the Fulton jail on May 26, for 23 charges of making terroristic threats, all of which are felonies.
His bond has been denied, and he remains in custody at the Fulton County Jail.
Warrants allege the teenager threatened on social media to kill Labat, his wife Jacki and the Atlanta Public Schools police chief.
The threats were made following the high-profile arrests of several alleged “Young Slime Life” gang members, a spokeswoman for the sheriff said. Among those charged last month are popular Atlanta rappers Young Thug and Gunna.
Authorities said Mender threatened to kill the Labats on their respective Instagram pages unless Young Thug, the alleged leader of YSL, was released from jail.
“#freethug or Imma sh00t u and your wife,” the teen wrote, according to his arrest warrants. Mender allegedly wrote on the sheriff’s page a second time hours later, saying, “Imma assassinate you.”
He is also accused of announcing plans to kill the sheriff on the Georgia State Patrol’s recruiting page, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office account and the Fulton Clerk of Court’s Instagram page, warrants allege.
Among the 28 people charged in the racketeering indictment is a defendant named Tenquarius Mender. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday morning if he and the teen accused of making the threats are related.
“We take these kinds of brazen threats seriously,” Labat said in a statement. “Social media cyberbullying, and hiding behind a keyboard, will not protect someone from criminal prosecution.”
Mender is being held without bond.
Jeffery Williams, aka Young Thug, was denied bond Thursday after a Fulton County judge expressed “significant concerns” about letting him out.
Williams is charged with racketeering and participating in gang activity, but prosecutors allege the Grammy winner had a hand in more serious crimes, including murder. His attorneys strongly deny the allegations, and presented witnesses Thursday who testified about the star’s charitable contributions in the southwest Atlanta community and beyond. Countering that image, prosecutor Dean Geary told the judge that granting bond in the case would likely lead to some of the state’s witnesses being threatened or worse. Some potential witnesses have already expressed fears about retaliation, the prosecutor said.
“If they crossed him, he would kill them and their family,” Geary said in court.
“They were very clear about that.”
Before denying bond to Williams, the judge read a text message the rapper allegedly sent to fellow YSL members in a 2015 group chat: “Anybody goes into a courtroom and tells the God honest truth they’ll be f*****ng killed.”
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