As jury selection in Young Thug‘s trial is expected to enter its fifth month in May, his attorney filed a fourth motion for him to be released on bond as he faces gang-related charges in a sweeping RICO indictment.
Attorney Brian Steel, who represents Thugger, born Jeffery Lamar Williams, told ABC News in a phone interview on Wednesday that his client does not pose a risk and should be released as he awaits trial.
Steel added that Thug, who has been present in the courtroom during the monthslong jury selection, is “sleep-deprived” because he wakes up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. and does not return to the detention center until late, which is interfering with his ability to prepare for this trial.
The rapper was denied bond three times last year after he was arrested in May 2022 and charged with eight counts.
Young Thug was initially charged with one count each of conspiring to violate the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and participating in criminal street gang activity, and was later charged with an additional count of participating in street gang activity, three counts of violating the Georgia controlled substances act, possession of a firearm while committing a felony and possession of a machine gun.
He pleaded not guilty to all eight counts and is set to face trial along with 13 co-defendants.
He was among 28 individuals named in the indictment who are allegedly associated with the Atlanta-based Young Slime Life, or YSL — a gang that prosecutors allege Young Thug founded in 2012. But YSL, which is also the acronym for Young Stoner Life, is also the name of the rapper’s label — an imprint of 300 Entertainment — which is not named in the indictment.
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