ATLANTA (CN) — The ongoing RICO trial against hip-hop artist Young Thug and five others accused of participating in a criminal street gang was put on hold Monday, after one of the defendants was stabbed over the weekend at the Fulton County Jail.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville told the jury that “a medical issue" came up with one of the "participants" of the case, before dismissing them for the day.
According to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, defendant Shannon Stillwell was stabbed multiple times Sunday night during a fight with a fellow inmate. They did not provide details on what led to the fight, but said that Stillwell is considered stable and expected to recover. He did not appear in the courtroom Monday morning.
“We do know that Shannon has a target on his back due to the false allegations in this RICO indictment,” Stillwell's attorney Max Schardt said in a statement. “We remain committed to ensuring his safety with hopes to get him back home to his family.”
The stabbing is the latest incident to draw national scrutinty to the Fulton County Jail, which is being investigated by a Georgia Senate panel and the U.S. Department of Justice for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, case backlogs, and number of inmate injuries and deaths.
During the first 10 months of the year, the jail recorded 293 stabbings, 337 fights, 922 assaults and more than 1,186 confiscated shanks, sheriff's general counsel Amelia Joiner told lawmakers at a recent hearing before the state senate committee.
Stillwell is one of 28 people charged in last year’s sprawling indictment, that included Grammy Award-winning rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams. Nine defendants took plea deals, while 12 others had their cases severed, bringing the current number of defendants on trial down to six.
The rapper, who goes by the stage name, "SB," was released on bond but returned to jail a week later in May 2022 on a separate murder charge. Stillwell faces eight counts of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, murder, participation in a criminal street gang, and gun charges. He is one of five defendants charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the death of Donovan Thomas Jr. in 2015.
Thomas was shot and killed at a barbershop in Castleberry Hill in Atlanta, along with two other victims that included a 14-year-old boy. According to prosecutors, Thomas was a major figure in a rival gang and his death sparked an escalation in violence. They claim the car used in the drive-by shooting was rented under Williams' name and that he is the leader of a purported gang known as "Young Slime Life" or "YSL."
Williams' attorney, Brain Steel, claims that "YSL" is solely a reference to his client's record label called "Young Stoner Life" and that he has no need to direct criminals due to the fame and wealth accumulated from his career as a global entertainer.
“He is not sitting there telling people to kill other people,” the lawyer told the jury during opening statements last month. “He doesn’t need their money. Jeffrey is worth tens of millions of dollars.”
Steel argued other defendants such as Kenneth Copeland, who accepted a plea deal and is expected to testify at trial, leeched off Williams. The attorney said Copeland, who is also known as "Lil Woody," came to Williams three days before the fatal shooting of Thomas, asking to borrow one of the rapper's rental cars because his young child and his mother were in town.
Monday marked day 10 of the trial that is expected to last at least six months with 400 witnesses anticipated to be called to the stand by prosecutors. The case has already become the longest criminal trial in Georgia history, after the jury selection process was dragged out over 10 months.
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