YSL RICO trial: Calls reviewed, Steel files brief with Georgia Supreme Court

FULTON COUNTY, Georgia. – The judge and attorneys in the Fulton County trial of Young Thug and YSL spent most of Thursday reviewing recorded phone conversations that prosecutors plan to present to the jury when they return next week.

Most of the calls were to Young Thug’s co-defendants Shannon Stillwell and Quamarvious Nichols.

The prosecution argued that the telephone conversations had to be admitted because they supported the conspiracy theory.

Despite objections from defense attorneys Bruce Harvey, representing Nichols, and Max Schardt, representing Stillwell, most of the calls are admitted by Judge Paige Reese Whitaker under the hearsay exception for “testimony from co-conspirators.”

In related news, Brian Steel's attorneys filed a brief with the Georgia Supreme Court regarding his contempt of court charge.

Steel was charged with contempt of court by the judge originally assigned to the case, Ural Glanville, after he refused to reveal who informed him of a one-sided meeting on June 10.

Glanville initially sentenced Steel to ten weekends in prison, but the Supreme Court stayed the sentence.

According to the statement, there is insufficient evidence to support Steel's conviction for contempt of court beyond a reasonable doubt.

In addition, the complaint argues that the court's order to Steel to disclose “privileged information” was unlawful and created a conflict of interest between his client's interests and his own. The court also erred by failing to afford Steel due process.

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The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on the appeal for October.

The original trial judge, Ural Glanville, was ultimately removed from the case because of his handling of the ex parte hearing.

The second judge selected to preside over the trial resigned from her post because of a previous relationship between a bailiff and a YSL defendant.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker is the third judge assigned to the case.

Young Thug and 27 others were indicted in 2022 for violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law and committing multiple violent crimes. After the longest jury selection in history (10 months), the trial of Young Thug and several co-defendants began in November 2023. It is now the longest trial in Georgia history. Prosecutors are attempting to prove that YSL (Young Slime Life) is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous crimes, including murder. Defendants claim that YSL stands for Young Stoner Life and is the name of a record label founded by Young Thug. Young Thug is facing eight criminal charges. The trial was plagued by various disruptions, including illness, the arrest of a juror and an attorney, the stabbing of defendant Shannon Stillwell, the removal of the judge originally assigned to the case, and more.