At a hearing in Fulton County Superior Court, a judge denies bond to the 'Stoner' rhymer as a prosecutor says witnesses have expressed fear that the rapper 'will kill them and their family.'
- Jun 3, 2022
AceShowbiz - Young Thug will remain in jail until his trial in a RICO case. On Thursday, June 2, an Atlanta judge refused to release the star, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, on bond despite impassioned testimony from music executive Kevin Liles.
Appearing at a hearing in Fulton County Superior Court, Liles, the founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment, the Warner Music Group unit that signed Thug and owns the rapper's YSL Records imprint, vouched for the 30-year-old star and promised to keep him under strict house arrest.
"I truly believe, this whole thing, it's not him," Liles said, sometimes wiping tears from his face with a handkerchief. "That's not the Jeffery I know. The Jeffery I know would give me the clothes off his back."
When warned by Thug's attorney Brian Steel that Liles could be subjected to financial penalties if Thug violated his bond and asked if he still wanted to back him, Liles remained firm as he stated, "He's like a son to me. Yes, without hesitation."
Liles also sharply criticized the DA's use of Thug's rap lyrics as evidence in the case. "We don't argue about movies or other genres of music. We don't bring those things to court. But our music, we've been on trial and we're constantly on trial over what we are and who we are," he argued.
Thug's legal team also submitted pre-taped video testimony from fellow rapper Machine Gun Kelly as well as from Lyor Cohen, another music exec and the co-founder of 300 Entertainment, in defense of Thug.
However, bond prosecutor Don Geary told Judge Ural Glanville that Thug should not be allowed to "buy" his way out of jail because the state's witnesses were already being "threatened with serious violence and death." The prosecutor stressed, "They have stated uniformly that Mr. Williams is dangerous, they are afraid of him, that if they cross him he will kill them and their family. And they were very clear about that."
The prosecutor argued that good deeds were not enough to secure release on extremely serious charges, especially when relayed by people like Liles who were "financially dependent"on Thug. Geary even called Thug the "leader, the top dog, the most dangerous guy" of the 28 indicted in the case.
Judge Glanville agreed with the prosecutor as he explained, "I realize that Mr. Williams is presumed innocent. However, in this particular circumstance there have been significant [claims] about Mr. Williams being a danger to the community."
Meanwhile, Yak Gotti, one of the rappers who were also indicted in the case, has refuted rumors that he snitched on YSL. "2015 my brudda never did a day in jail because I claimed my s**t," he posted on his Instagram Story. "I did 4 years Fed with no tears. Stop the cap."
Gotti himself was also denied bail on Thursday. At his own hearing, prosecutors accused the rapper, born Deamonte Kendrick, of participating in gang activity since his arrest in May. He allegedly used another inmate's code to use the phone inside the jail.
Prosecutors claimed Gotti was using the code to avoid being caught conspiring to sneak a cell phone into the Cobb County Jail. Gotti was successful in smuggling a phone in, but investigators were aware he had the device inside of the jail. The phones were eventually recovered and confiscated.
In his ruling, Judge Glanville stated that Gotti was a threat to witnesses and that he would attempt to flee.
Gunna, who was also indicted on RICO charge, was denied release on bond last week.
