Young Thug‘s long-running YSL trial took yet another wild turn this week when a witness for the prosecution was sent to prison for five years after his testimony on the stand didn’t match the facts in his plea agreement.
Per Atlanta’s Fox 5, Antonio Sledge, who testified early last month, was taken into custody on Friday (October 18) when Judge Paige Reese Whitaker ruled that his behavior on the stand violated his deal with the state.
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Sledge’s plea agreement, which allowed him to avoid prison time and instead land 15 years of probation, hinged on him agreeing to sixteen “factual acknowledgements” about YSL and, specifically, about the murder of Donovan “Nut” Thomas and Thug’s alleged role in its aftermath.
“On January 10, 2015, after the murder of Donovan Thomas, Jr., Defendant and other YSL associates gathered at the home of Jeffery Williams AKA Young Thug, who gave Defendant and other YSL associates cash money to ‘lay low,'” one reads.
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However, on the stand, Sledge changed his story, repeatedly saying, “I don’t recall” in response to questions about the killing.
Judge Whitaker came down hard on Sledge’s behavior, accusing him of violating “the solemn oath that he took when he said that he understood every term within the plea agreement factual acknowledgements.”
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“He was notified that the entirety” of his 15 year probation “could be revoked” if he violated his deal, the judge continued.
“There is not a proper regard for the judicial system and the seriousness with which an oath in court needs to be taken.”
See Judge Whitaker’s statement below, via reporter Meghann Cuniff.
The judge in Young Thug’s trial just sent a prosecution witness to prison for five years for violating his probation by not testifying in accordance with his plea deal when he took the stand recently.
“We’ve got to take seriously the court system.” pic.twitter.com/PZsosPeiK1
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) October 18, 2024
Judge Whitaker revoked five years of Sledge’s probation, and he was taken into custody immediately, despite his request to have time to get things in order.
Earlier this month, the trial had another strange surprise when a former Fulton County corrections officer was accused of collaborating with one of Thug’s defendants.
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According to WSB-TV, 31-year-old Karmen Bailey was charged with accepting $17,000 in bribes, including from Marquavious Huey’s family, in exchange for delivering drugs and other contraband to inmates at the Fulton County Jail.
