Young Thug & YSL RICO Trial Prosecutors Tracked Possible Juror For Weeks: Report

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1.5K Views
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2018 Bumbershoot
SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 01: Young Thug performs at Bumbershoot at Seattle Center on September 1, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Suzi Pratt/WireImage/Getty Images)
Fulton County prosecutors reportedly asked Judge Glanville to dismiss this individual after surveilling their actions.

The already slow-moving jury selection process in Young Thug and YSL's RICO case changed in a pretty significant way this week. Moreover, Fulton County prosecutors- according to AllHipHop- reportedly admitted to following a potential juror in the trial for weeks. Specifically, they motioned for Judge Ural Glanville to dismiss the individual after weeks of surveillance on behalf of these attorneys, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Furthermore, their claims include that the male juror in question does not actually live in Fulton County, Georgia, but rather a Cobb County apartment, another Georgia area. For what it's worth, he insisted that he lives mostly with his mother in Fulton County during jury selection procedures.

Of course, this surveillance process meant that the prosecution could counter these claims in the YSL RICO trial. As such, they alleged that the potential juror spent 28 out of 30 nights in his Cobb County apartment, and license plate readers claim he was never near his mother's home when in Fulton County. According to these reports, the legal defense team expressed shock at the admission of this tracking. "I think it is improper,” Suri Chadha Jimenez, an attorney on the defense team, remarked to AJC. “It’s not right to do this to citizens who are not criminals. They’re surveilling people who are doing their civic duty by showing up to jury service. He did nothing wrong."

Young Thug Performing In 2021

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 17: Rapper Young Thug performs at halftime during the Boston Celtics v Atlanta Hawks game at State Farm Arena on November 17, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Regardless of these qualms, prosecutors stood by their decision in the YSL case. For example, a Fulton County District Attorney explained that a juror outside of Fulton County would result in an overturned verdict. "As is permitted by law, we review public records of jurors to ensure they are eligible to serve on a jury, particularly in major cases,” they noted. “Our review of this juror’s public information indicates that he lives in Cobb County, making it illegal for him to serve on a Fulton County jury. A further review confirmed he is ineligible. At no time did anyone from the DA’s office have contact with the juror."

Meanwhile, all this deliberation and extra steps to judge jurors did not result in a speedier selection. After all, Thugger still needs people on his jury for the trial to finally get in motion. Even then, it could be a very long process, so we'll keep you posted on the latest updates in this case. For more news on Young Thug and YSL, come back to HNHH.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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