A Georgia judge denied bond Thursday night for Atlanta rap artist Young Thug, who’s accused of conspiracy to break Georgia’s RICO Act and participation in a criminal street gang.
Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville handed down the judgment stating he has substantial issues about the performer, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, being a danger to the community, news outlets reported.
District attorneys 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 approximately a decade and promoted its activities in songs and on social media, district attorneys declare in an 88-page indictment that charges him, rapper Gunna– whose genuine name is Sergio Kitchens– striving rapper Christian Eppinger and 24 others with racketeering.
Eppinger was already in jail, implicated in the shooting of an Atlanta policeman six times in February.
Young Thug, district attorneys 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 actually been in custody since his arrest last month at his home in an upscale area north of downtown Atlanta. His attorneys provided numerous witnesses to counter the image district attorneys painted, pointing to the musician’s community involvement. Music executive Kevin Liles testified that Williams was “like a son” and he wanted to set up his own wealth and company behind a bond.
The rapper, he stated,“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 ended up being the very first hip-hop track to win the song of the year Grammy in 2019.
He also seemed to have a great deal of sympathy and good will in the community. One witness, Cleveland Avenue community organizer Jamil Mitchell, said, “without him the neighborhood would be terrible – you gotta think about all the people he helped motivate… to me and I know to a lot of other people, he’s a motivator to us.”
An anticipated trial date, the judge stated, would be Jan. 9, 2023.