Judge Denies Bond For Young Thug
Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville denied bond for Young Thug on Thursday evening, saying that he has significant concerns about the rapper being a danger to the community.
The judge also held the rapper due to concerns about witness intimidation ahead of the trial.
As reported by WSB-TV, the judge sided with prosecutors saying that Young Thug née Jeffrey Williams is the leader of a dangerous street gang. Prosecutors say this gang committed multiple murders, shootings and carjackings over roughly a decade and Young Thug promoted their activities in songs and on social media.
Last month, the 300 Ent rap star and his protege, Gunna, in addition to 26 others were charged under a state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charge.
Young Thug appeared at the hearing clad in a county-issued blue suit and was supported by numerous witnesses for the lengthy hearing.
One of those witnesses was 300 Entertainment CEO, Kevin Liles, who was seen wiping tears from his eyes as he testified via video. “I’m kind of emotional because of how good this guy is,” said Liles according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The long-time music executive even offered to put up his own property as collateral in exchange for Williams’ release, saying, “He’s like a son to me.”
Williams’ attorney Brian Steel promised the court that Williams would be under house arrest at one of his four Atlanta-area homes. Additionally it was promised that the rapper would hire a team of off-duty law enforcement officers to monitor his activity 24 hours a day during home confinement, and that he was willing to wear an ankle monitor, undergo regular drug tests and surrender his cellphone and passport. These measures were to be tradeoffs for the ability to be let out of the Cobb County jail so as to have access to an in-home studio.
Prosecutors also tried to convince Judge Glanville to remove Steel as Williams’ attorney because he represents several of the co-defendants in the case who may be offered plea deals to cooperate.
The judge declined to remove the attorney, but reserved the right to revisit that argument.
In addition to the RICO charges, Williams is facing seven additional counts stemming from the search of his Buckhead home where police allegedly found nearly 1,300 grams of marijuana, 31 bottles of Promethazine syrup and six guns, including a 9mm Glock equipped with an illegal “converter switch” that transforms the semi-automatic pistol into a “machine gun.”
As previously reported nearly two weeks ago, a Fulton County judge also denied bond for Gunna (born Sergio Kitchens) despite an offer of a $750,000 secured bond which included liens on his parent’s home, house arrest, and electronic monitoring.
The AJC is reporting that the trial for both rap stars is set to begin in January 2023.
