Young Thug’s lawyer has claimed a potential juror in his client’s ongoing RICO case attempted to reach out to him, and an investigation is now underway.
The claim was made during day five of jury selection for Thugga’s upcoming criminal trial and was reported by Cathy Russon, an executive producer at Law & Crime Network.
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Brian Steele, Thug’s attorney, said that a potential juror had sent along an e-mail to his firm and while the e-mail’s contents weren’t disclosed during the hearing, it was enough for the judge to order an investigation.
“A potential juror attempted to contact #YoungThug‘s attorney’s law firm via email” Russon wrote on Twitter. “Attorney Brian Steel forwarded the email to the court & parties and did not respond to the person. Judge is having court personnel investigate.”
A potential juror attempted to contact #YoungThug's attorney's law firm via email. Attorney Brian Steel forwarded the email to the court & parties and did not respond to the person. Judge is having court personnel investigate. pic.twitter.com/fmAIYHz6Mj
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) January 10, 2023
The jury selection process has not been easy on Thugga since it began on January 9. Many potential jurors are reportedly concerned with the length of the trial, which they’ve been told could last as long as six to nine months. One of the potential jurors also reportedly didn’t return this week after flying out to the Dominican Republic.
Judge Glanville has since ordered authorities to go to her home and demanded she be brought directly to court from the airport. Another juror also reportedly called in sick.
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Potential jurors have already watched a three-hour video of Judge Ural Glanville reading through YSL’s initial sweeping indictment, which included select lyrics from Thugger’s 2016 song “Slime Shit” that prosecutors sought to have included as evidence.
In a clip leaked to social media, Glanville can be seen reciting the song’s hook, which hears Young Thug rap: “Hey, this that slime shit, hey/ Y SL shit, hey/ Killin’ 12 shit, hey/ Fuck a jail shit, hey/ … Cookin’ white brick, hey, hey/ […] I’m not new to this, hey, I’m so true to this, hey I done put a whole slime on a hunnid licks.”
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Judge Glanville also read lyrics from the song’s actual verses by Lil Duke, PeeWee Roscoe and Yak Gotti, including: “Slime or get slimed/ […] In the VIP and I got that pistol on my hip/ You prayin’ that you live/ I’m prayin’ that I hit/ […] Hey, this that slime shit/ Fuck, fuck the police (Fuck ’em), in a high speed.”
Young Thug’s attorneys filed a motion last November asking to exclude songs, lyrics, music videos and social posts from the evidence in the trial.
YFN Lucci’s murder and racketeering trial was also delayed due to Young Thug’s RICO trial, with Atlanta-based reporter George Chidi tweeting that Lucci’s attorney had informed him the delay was because the “Everyday We Lit” rapper could potentially be called as a testifying witness.
“YFN Lucci’s trial was due to begin January 9, same as Young Thug’s. The YFN gang and RICO case is just as wide-ranging as the YSL case,” Chidi tweeted. “The two are connected; Lucci is a witness. But Lucci’s trial date has been postponed, his attorney said Tuesday. No new court date has been set.”
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As his replies became flooded with questions, Chidi clarified a few details, pointing out that just because Lucci is on the state’s witness list — which contains a host of other Hip Hop figures — it doesn’t necessarily mean he will take the stand.
“And here we go. For clarification: Lucci is on the state’s witness list. That doesn’t mean he’s going to testify, but he could still be called. Don’t @ me with questions about snitching. I don’t care,” he added.
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Young Thug faces a total of eight charges as part of the massive 65-count RICO case against his YSL collective.
