Grammy winner Young Thug copped a surprise plea deal Thursday in the longest criminal trial in Georgia’s history that’s been rocked by a variety of court drama.
The Atlanta-based “Trance” rapper — whose real name is Jeffery Williams — agreed to plead guilty in the case accusing him of being the ring leader of the Young Slime Life, or YSL, gang, according to NBC News.
The deal is a non-negotiated deal, meaning Young Thug’s sentencing will be determined by Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker.
The 33-year-old rapper’s trial has lasted nearly a year, the longest in state history.
He’s been behind bars since his arrest in May 2022.
The shocking turn of events came during a nearly year-long trial that kicked off in November 2023 and has already seen 24 of the 27 co-defendants plea out — three of whom took deals earlier this week.
Young Thug was indicted in 2022 on racketeering charges for allegedly running the Bloods-connected YSL gang, which he named his record label after.
He and the other co-defendants are accused of various crimes including murder, armed robbery, drug dealing, carjacking and violence.
The defendants faced sentences of five to 20 years in prison.
While the trial — which has been live-streamed — began in November 2023, jury selection started months earlier in January 2023.
The case has been marked by fits and starts, due to various defendants taking plea deals throughout trial and a prior judge stepping down in July after he was accused of misconduct by the defense.
Young Thug’s criminal defense lawyer Brian Steel, was held in contempt of court and sentenced to 10 weekends in jail for confronting Judge Ural Glanville about an alleged secret meeting he held with prosecutors.
The state’s top court had to intervene to grant Steel bond while he appealed the ruling by Glanville, who recused himself in the end.
A deputy was also accused of smuggling contraband to a defendant in the case and someone at some point hacked the court’s Zoom to yell “Free Thug!”, NBC News said.
Young Thug has collaborated on tracks with other hit-makers including Travis Scott, Post Malone, Meek Mill and Drake.
He won a Grammy in 2019 for “This is America,” which he co-wrote with Childish Gambino, and has three No. 1 albums on the Billboard chart.
