Judge removed from long-running gang and extortion case against rapper Young Thug and others

ATLANTA (AP) — The judge overseeing the long-running prosecution of rapper Young Thug and others for gang-related and extortion-related crimes has been removed from the case after two defendants sought his recuse, citing a gathering the judge had with prosecutors and a prosecution witness.

Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville suspended the case in Atlanta two weeks ago to provide one other judge a probability to listen to the defendants’ motions to recuse themselves. Judge Rachel Krause on Monday granted those motions and ordered the clerk of the court to reassign the case to a different judge.

While Krause didn’t blame Glanville for arranging the meeting and stated that she had “no doubt that Judge Glanville can and will continue to preside over this case with integrity,” she wrote that the “need to preserve public confidence in the judicial system” weighs in favor of recusing Judge Glanville” from the case.

The ruling is for certain to cause further delays in a trial that has dragged on for greater than a yr. Jury selection began in January 2023 and lasted nearly 10 months. Opening statements were made in November, and prosecutors have been making their case since then, calling dozens of witnesses.

Young Thug, a Grammy Award winner whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was indicted two years ago in a sweeping indictment that accused him and greater than two dozen others of conspiring to violate Georgia anti-kickback laws. He can be charged with gang, drug and firearms offenses and faces trial with five others charged with him.

Lawyers for Young Thug and co-defendant Deamonte Kendrick filed motions to have Glanville disqualified. They said the judge held a gathering with prosecutors and prosecution witness Kenneth Copeland that was not attended by the defendants or defense attorneys. Defense attorneys argued that the meeting was “improper” and that the judge and prosecutors were attempting to pressure the witness to testify.

Glanville believed the match was conducted properly and argued that nobody gained a tactical advantage from it.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office, which is prosecuting the case, argued there was no have to remove Glanville from the case.

Brian Steel, Young Thug’s attorney, said in an emailed statement that his client is innocent and is searching for to clear his name through a good trial.

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“Unfortunately, Judge Glanville and the prosecutors violated their duties under the law,” Steel said, adding that he was grateful for the recusal order and looked forward to “continuing proceedings with a judge who will honestly and faithfully uphold the law.”

Kendrick’s lawyer, Doug Weinstein, also praised Monday’s decision.

“While I respect Chief Judge Glanville and his service to this community and country, he simply became biased in the course of this case,” he wrote in an email. He added that he looked forward to hearing the case “before an impartial judge” but said the one fair end result at this point was a “mistrial and bail” for Kendrick, who has served greater than two years in prison.

A spokesman for Willis’ office declined to comment. The Associated Press also reached out to Glanville for comment.

Krause wrote in her order that she “generally agrees” with Glanville’s assessment of the appropriateness of the meeting, that nothing in regards to the meeting or what was discussed was inherently improper. She wrote that the meeting “could — and perhaps should have” been held in open court.

But when Glanville denied Kendrick’s motion to recuse himself in court, he “provided context, challenged the truth of the allegations, and otherwise explained his decisions and actions and argued why those actions were appropriate.” Citing case law, Krause wrote that when a judge discloses information relevant to his potential recuse, he must achieve this “in as objective, impartial, and uncontroversial a manner as possible so that the judge is not reasonably perceived as a hostile witness or advocate.”

Young Thug has enjoyed massive success since he began rapping as a teen and serves as CEO of his own record label, Young Stoner Life, called YSL. Artists on his label are considered a part of the “Slime Family,” and the compilation album Slime Language 2 reached No. 1 on the charts in April 2021.

But prosecutors say YSL also stands for Young Slime Life, which they are saying is a violent Atlanta-based street gang with ties to the national Bloods gang, founded in 2012 by Young Thug and two others. Prosecutors say the individuals named within the indictment are accountable for violent crimes — including homicides, shootings and carjackings — aimed toward raising money for the gang, cultivating its fame and expanding its power and territory.

Steel acknowledged in his opening statement that his client’s songs mention acts of violence, including murder, but said they were merely artistic statements drawn from his difficult childhood and not a chronicle of his own actions.