YSL trial ends in acquittals on murder charges for remaining defendants

Kendrick’s mother, Tasha Kendrick, was jubilant in the hallway after her son was acquitted on all counts.

”My baby’s coming home,” she shouted, wiping tears from her eyes.

Meanwhile, members of the prosecution team appeared stunned after spending about two years selecting a jury and trying the case. The investigation into YSL itself lasted the better part of a decade, several law enforcement officers testified at trial.

Opening arguments took place more than a year ago with six defendants, but four of them — including rapper Young Thug — pleaded guilty in October.

Both Stillwell and Kendrick were accused in the January 2015 shooting of Donovan Thomas, who prosecutors said was the leader in a rival gang. Stillwell was also charged in the March 2022 killing of Shymel Drinks, and both men faced gang and gun charges.

Prosecutors had accused Young Thug whose real name is Jeffery Williams, of being the leader of YSL, which they argued is an Atlanta-based street gang responsible for a spate of robberies, shootings and the deaths of at least three people.

Williams and three co-defendants pleaded guilty in October. He was sentenced to 15 years of probation and banished from metro Atlanta for the next decade.

There were 28 defendants charged in the sprawling Fulton County indictment handed down more than 2 ½ years ago, including popular rapper Gunna. The charges stunned the hip hop community, especially after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced she plan to use rap lyrics as evidence in the case.

Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, pleaded guilty in late 2022.

Stillwell and Kendrick rejected plea offers in late October, opting instead to take the case all the way to the jury.

Eleven of the original 28 charged by Willis are still awaiting trial and after the verdict was announced on Tuesday defense attorneys representing some of them shook hands and fist-bumped each other in the hallway.

Credit: [email protected]

Credit: [email protected]

Kendrick is a close friend of Young Thug. He was arrested in May 2022 during a raid at the rapper’s Atlanta home. The verdict comes two days after Kendrick was stabbed during a jailhouse fight at the south annex in Union City, where he was being held, according to his attorney.

A spokeswoman for the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation is underway.

Earlier in the trial, Stillwell was stabbed at the Fulton County Jail, delaying the trial for about a month in December 2023.

Prosecutors said on the night of Jan. 10, 2015, YSL members gathered at a Texaco gas station near a southwest Atlanta barbershop where Thomas was killed in a drive-by shooting. The Infiniti sedan used in the fatal shooting had been rented by Young Thug, prosecutors argued at trial.

During the yearlong trial, prosecutors presented countless social media posts, called more than 175 witnesses and introduced rap lyrics as evidence.

Jurors began deliberations last Tuesday, discussing the case for about eight hours over two days before breaking for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Last week, they asked to see videos from the Thomas shooting and asked for clarification on some of the charges.

On Monday, they asked to hear two songs that were introduced as evidence in the case, along with those rap lyrics. Jurors also asked to see surveillance footage from the red light where Drinks was shot to death in March 2022.

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