YSL RICO case to resume Tuesday, co-defendant stabbed in Fulton County jail now out of hospital

ATLANTA — Testimony is set to resume Tuesday in the YSL RICO gang case against hip-hop superstar Young Thug and five of his alleged associates.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden has learned that prosecutors are expected to call multiple witnesses when the trial resumes.

But, before they begin, there will be an update on Shannon Stillwell, the defendant stabbed at the Fulton County jail back in December.

His attorney told Channel 2 Action News that Stillwell is out of the hospital and ready to get back into the courtroom.

Prosecutors allege that the rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is the leader of Young Slime Life, a criminal street gang that’s behind a rash of violent crimes.

Defense lawyers say that their clients are innocent. They claim that YSL stands for Young Stoner Life, the name of Young Thug’s record label.

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Seiden also spoke with several criminal defense attorneys and former prosecutors who aren’t involved in this case. One discussed strategy for both sides as they return from the break on Tuesday.

Leah Abbasi is a criminal defense attorney in Atlanta. She does not represent any of the defendants who are standing trial.

But she has been closely following the case since it started and shared her thoughts ahead of Tuesday’s proceedings.

“As a prosecutor, I think you need to get the jury back on track and remind them of the story that is hidden if your theme of the case,” Abbasi said. “There going to be a lot of unexpected twists and turns in this case.”

One of those unexpected twists and turns was the December 10 stabbing of defendant Shannon Stillwell.

Investigators say Stillwell was stabbed multiple times during a fight with a fellow inmate at the Fulton County jail.

“As far as the jurors, I think this trial has already been pretty difficult in that it’s kind of disjointed,” Abbasi told Channel 2 Action News. “Witnesses have been going out of order which is really unavoidable in our trial of this length, but it does make it harder for people to follow along and what is going on.”

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Right now, it’s unclear who the prosecution will call to testify. But what is clear is this trial has a long way to go.

So far the prosecution has only called 27 witnesses. In early court proceedings, the state told Judge Ural Glanville that they are expected to call hundreds more witnesses over the next several months.

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