Young Thug’s YSL RICO Case Could Be Moving Closer to Mistrial Ruling
Young Thug’s YSL RICO case continues to be something of a mess.
On Wednesday, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker indicated she might grant a mistrial without prejudice due to a new blunder from prosecutors. That means the trial would end, but the state could still file a new case at some point.
The issue arose when state witness Wunnie Lee took the stand and was asked to read an Instagram post to the jury. The original post included the hashtag #FreeQua, which, per Atlanta News First, is a reference to Thugger’s co-defendant, Marquavius Huey, who is currently incarcerated.
The hashtag was redacted in the version of the IG post shown to the jury, but the version shown to Lee included the hashtag. The jury is not permitted to know that Huey or another co-defendant, Quamarvious Nichols, is incarcerated.
After Lee read the hashtag aloud, his attorney, Nicole Westmoreland, requested a mistrial.
“We’re not going to be able to unring this bell, your honor,” she said. “The state presented to the witness, I guess, the unredacted version [of the exhibit], didn’t prep him to not comment on it, and he did.”
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She explained, “Now the jury has repeatedly heard about Mr. Nichols being in jail, being in prison. And you cannot unring that bell. We would ask for a mistrial.” She added, “It is painfully obvious that the state is not prepping their witnesses.”
Judge Whitaker reprimanded prosecutors for their mistake: “You should have presented [the witness] with a document that had [the hashtag] redacted. It’s just sloppy… It should have occurred to you.”
Whitaker then asked the defendants if they wanted a mistrial; court adjourned without the defense team supplying their answer.
In 2022, Young Thug was among 28 people charged in a 56-count indictment in Georgia, and the case has encountered several mishaps since. In June 2024, Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, was granted bond after being held in contempt of court and sentenced to jail. The following month, Judge Ural Glanville recused himself from the case.
