FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Atlanta rapper Gunna was released from the Fulton County Jail on Wednesday after pleading guilty to his part of a sweeping gang indictment that also includes rapper Young Thug.
Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, entered a negotiated plea known as an Alford plea.
An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain their innocence, but acknowledge that pleading guilty is in their best interest, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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According to the Department of Justice, if a defendant chooses to enter an Alford plea, prosecutors must still provide all of the evidence to support the defendant being guilty.
The rapper was facing one count of violation of Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Act.
Gunna was sentenced to five years with one served in prison. The one-year sentence was commuted to time served. The four-year remaining balance on his sentence has been suspended and will be subject to special conditions including 500 hours of community service.
After the sentence came down, the rapper released a statement, saying:
“While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way.”
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The Alford plea is named after the 1970 U.S. Supreme Court case North Carolina v. Alford.
In 1963, Henry Alford was charged with first-degree murder, which would have made him eligible for the death penalty in North Carolina. On the advice of his attorney, Alford pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second degree murder. While entering his plea, Alford maintained that he was innocent, but pleading guilty due to the threat of the death penalty, according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University.
The Supreme Court would go on to uphold Alford’s ability to enter a guilty plea despite “factual and legal dispute between him and the State.”
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