Young Thug’s Trial Takes Turn As YSL Co-Founder Takes Plea Deal – Watch Video
On Thursday, the court was originally scheduled to hear testimonies from three members of the YSL organization, but upon arrival, Tenquarius Mender and Derontae Bebee turned down the offers for a plea deal. Trontavious Stephens, however, did not share the same sentiment.
Tick, a.k.a. Slug, whose given name is Trontavious Stephens, took the plea deal offered to him and is now the 8th to do so. Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, may be in danger based on the information Tick revealed in the trial, reported Urban Islands.
Judge Ural Glanville apprised both men that if they were found guilty and convicted, they would face the full extent of the justice system, which would see Tenquarious get 50 years in prison. Trontavious Stephens, who accepted the plea deal, revealed shocking details about Young Thug’s role as the leader of the YSL gang that could be used against him in his upcoming trial. However, because Stephens accepted the plea deal, he is the only one of the three who does not get to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights.
Trontavious accepted a plea deal for two counts of operating and profiting from illegal business deals, according to Law and Crime reporter Cathy Russon, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. The deal also gave him the opportunity to serve two years and be released on probation for the next eight years. Stephens told the prosecutors that YSL was indeed a criminal organisation made up of approximately three members, of which he was one.
The prosecutors sought to affirm his testimony by asking him to confirm that Young Slime Life is a criminal organisation that consists of three or more people who have identifiers that include colours, hand signals, and terminologies specific to them, to which he said yes. The prosecution went further to ask if he was saying that they committed crimes to make their name, YSL, known and feared in their area of operations, and Stephens confirmed it.
Stephens also said yes to committing aggravated assault in count one of the indictments by showing off a gun to an undercover law enforcement officer who was keeping tabs on a vehicle stolen from a woman. The YSL associate also told the court that he had previously been arrested for another incident and had testified to being a part of a gang called “Rock Crew,” which now goes by the name YSL. Stephen told the court that the abbreviation YSL originally stood for “Young Slime Life” but was later changed to “Young Successful Lifestyle” when rapper Young Thug signed a record deal.
In the meantime, the prosecution unleashed a flurry of evidence against Tick by indicating that in a song by Young Thug, the rapper mentions that Tick robbed a woman. This would give confirmation that the rapper spoke of the gang’s activities in his music. Tick also faced incriminating evidence of text messages between Young Thug and himself. One specific message thread spoke of the rapper asking if they had not beaten up or shot a specific person as of yet, and then the Atlanta rapper accused Tick and others of the organisation of getting soft. The prosecution finally told the court that Stephens reported two gas stations at which drugs are sold for the gang.
The plea deal comes ahead of Young Thug’s trial, in which jury selection is scheduled for January 4, 2023, and his court appearance follows five days later.
Gunna was among the eight YSL members to take the plea deal and has since been released from prison.
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