Young Thug‘s attempt to disqualify the lead prosecutor in the RICO case against him and his YSL collective has been denied by the judge.
Thugger, through his attorney Brian Steel, had submitted a motion to disqualify Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love from prosecuting the high-profile case.
They argued that Love overseeing the trial “seriously threaten[ed]” Thug’s right to a fair trial.
The motion claimed that Love had unlawfully inserted herself into the proceedings and essentially became an unsworn witness due to the nature of her questioning of a witness during the trial.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office responded to the motion, saying the defense “provide[d] no compelling authority for the proposition that her disqualification is required.”
Ruling on the motion on Thursday (April 4), Judge Ural Glanville sided with the prosecution and said Love can stay on the trial.
The trial, which has already been going on for four months, does not appear to be any closer to reaching a conclusion.
Of the 153 witnesses listed in the case, only around 40 have taken the stand so far. It is expected to last for at least the remainder of the year.
The trial has seen plenty of drama since its inception, with a YSL defense attorney themselves getting arrested in the courtroom on gang-related charges.
Nicole Fegan, Tenquarius Mender’s attorney, was arrested in February and charged with participating in criminal street gang activity and criminal solicitation to commit the offense of tampering with evidence. She had previously been successful in getting Mender’s case severed from the other defendants’.
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The charges, however, are not directly related to the YSL RICO trial. Rather, Fegan was allegedly involved in an unrelated deadly shooting on the corner of Williams and Baker Streets in Atlanta back in December 2022.
Young Thug and five other defendants are on trial as part of a RICO case that alleges YSL is a street gang behind a string of violent crimes. The defense says it is simply the rapper’s record label, Young Stoner Life.
Thug faces eight charges including conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and participation in criminal street gang activity, in addition to drugs and weapons offenses.
The 32-year-old has repeatedly maintained his innocence since his arrest in May 2022. He has been behind bars ever since after being denied bond several times.
The trial began in November but was halted the following month after one of Thug’s co-defendants was stabbed in jail, before resuming in the new year.
