One of Young Thug’s co-defendants in the YSL RICO case has demanded a mistrial.
In a motion for mistrial filed on Tuesday (February 21), Jayden Myrick’s attorney, Gina Bernard, argued her client’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury has been “violated” due to discovery material being shared with the public.
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While the motion didn’t specify the discovery material, it cited content that was “disseminated on social media” on February 17, claiming it “clearly” violated a previously signed order that prohibited all parties from sharing discovery material with any news media sources, social media or other public forums.
Bernard was most likely referring to a video of YSL associate Kenneth “Lil Woody” Copeland divulging information about Young Thug and others to investigators during an interrogation in October 2021 following a weapons arrest.
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The three-and-a-half-hour clip found Woody discussing an alleged murder plot seemingly orchestrated by Thug targeting a gang rival called Shell Kel (real name Kelvin Watts), a member of YFN Lucci’s crew.
“While said evidence may not directly implicate my client, it along with all of the publicity and courtroom incidents since the start of this trial that have not been the result of any conduct of my client, Jayden Myrick, make it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, as well as a jury that is honestly and truly fair and impartial,” Bernard wrote.
According to Infamous Sylvia, who has been covering the YSL RICO trial in Fulton County, Georgia, Myrick’s motion for mistrial wasn’t mentioned during court proceedings on Tuesday.
Myrick, also known as SetTrip and Jayman, faces charges of attempted murder, possession of weapon by incarcerated individual, conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and two counts of participation in criminal street gang activity, per the original indictment.
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The motion for mistrial is just the latest twist in an already dramatic trial. In January, an alleged courtroom drug deal between Young Thug and co-defendant Kahlieff Adams was caught on camera, which subsequently delayed the jury selection process.
Adams allegedly handed Thug a single Percocet pill when court was in session, resulting in Adams being “tased several times” by Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputies, according to his attorney.
Several other YSL defendants have been hit with additional charges, stemming from incidents ranging from stabbing a fellow jail inmate to spitting on and getting into a scuffle with a deputy sheriff. More than a dozen have taken plea deals — including Gunna.
More recently, prosecutors sought to have Kahlieff Adams and Tenquarius Mender tried separately due to the fact that both of their attorneys are pregnant. Judge Ural Glanville isn’t expected to rule on the motion until March 1.
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Jury selection in the trial began in early January, but Young Thug and his 13 remaining co-defendants are unlikely to learn their fate anytime soon as the trial is expected to last anywhere from six to nine months. Jury selection itself is set to continue for another two months at least.
Thug faces eight charges in the RICO case, including conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and two counts of participation in criminal street gang activity, along with several drug and weapons offenses.
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The rapper stands accused of being the shot-caller of YSL, who prosecutors allege is a “criminal street gang” behind a series of violent crimes in the Atlanta area over the last eight years.
