Gunna, the rapper who was arrested in Atlanta in Might as a part of a RICO case in opposition to the Younger Slime Life (YSL) gang, was launched from jail Wednesday after getting into a negotiated responsible plea on a racketeering conspiracy cost.
The 29-year-old rapper, whose actual identify is Sergio Kitchens, was sentenced to 5 years in jail with 4 years suspended, in line with WSB-TV Channel 2 in Atlanta. The one-year sentence was then commuted to time served, with particular situations that embrace 500 hours of group service.
The rapper’s sentence can be accomplished as soon as he does his group service, legal professional Steve Sadow stated. It is going to embrace 350 hours chatting with younger women and men in regards to the “hazards and immorality” of gangs and gang violence. He should keep away from weapons and from his co-defendants except the communication goes by means of attorneys or his file label.
Gunna entered what’s often known as an Alford plea, which permits an individual to plead responsible — whereas nonetheless sustaining innocence — if it is believed the prosecution’s proof would probably end in a responsible verdict at trial.
“Whereas I’ve agreed to at all times be truthful, I need to make it completely clear that I’ve NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or in opposition to any social gathering within the case and have completely NO intention of being concerned within the trial course of in any manner,” the rapper stated in a press release obtained by The Instances.
If Gunna is named as a witness by anybody within the upcoming trial, which is ready to begin in January, “He’ll testify honestly, however he reserves his proper to claim his Fifth Modification privilege in opposition to self-incrimination,” Sadow stated.
Gunna stated within the assertion that he didn’t contemplate YSL to be a “gang” when he turned affiliated with the group in 2016. He stated he thought it was “extra like a gaggle of individuals from metro Atlanta who had widespread pursuits and inventive aspirations” and maintained that his focus in YSL was “leisure — rap artists who wrote and carried out music that exaggerated and ‘glorified’ city life within the Black group.”
“I like and cherish my affiliation with YSL music, and at all times will,” Gunna stated within the assertion. “I have a look at this as a chance to provide again to my group and educate younger women and men that ‘gangs’ and violence solely result in destruction.”
A 56-count grand jury indictment in Might recognized Gunna, Younger Thug (actual identify Jeffery Lamar Williams) and 26 others as members of YSL, a felony road gang. A number of the defendants had been charged with violent crimes akin to homicide and tried armed theft. Authorities have stated Williams and Kitchens are leaders within the gang, however their attorneys have contested the fees for months, the AJC reported.
The indictment additionally alleged that 31-year-old Younger Thug was a founding father of the YSL gang and alleged he was linked to offenses in 2013 and 2018. He stays in jail, pending trial, with jury choice set for Jan. 4.
Final week, a grand jury charged the 31-year-old with 4 extra counts associated to a Might 2021 incident the place he allegedly drove 120 miles per hour on an Atlanta freeway, FOX5 Atlanta reported Tuesday.
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Instances.
