Young Thug was arrested after being named in a sweeping indictment involving his record label. The Grammy-winning rapper and members of his label are being accused of co-founding a street gang, Young Slime Life (YSL), which is also the name of Young Thug’s record label.
The 30-year-old rapper was charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and participation in criminal street gang activity, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Following his arrest on Monday, he was booked at the Fulton County Jail.
Young Thug, born Jeffery Lamar Williams, was named in a 56-count state indictment with 28 others, involving gang activity over a decade. Also named on the indictment are YSL Records signee and fellow Atlanta rapper Gunna, born Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, as well as Christian Eppinger, who was accused of shooting an Atlanta police officer in February.
The document alleges that Young Thug was involved in racketeering activity since January 2013, a year after the Young Slime Life crime organization is alleged to have formed. Prosecutors claim that Young Slime Life, which shares its name with Young Thug’s label, YSL Records, is affiliated with the local Bloods street gang in Atlanta’s Cleveland Avenue area.
Throughout that time, it is alleged that Young Thug committed racketeering. The document states that in 2015, Young Thug rented an Infiniti Q50 sedan to be used in the drive-by-shooting death of Donovan Thomas Jr., a rival gang member. Over two weeks after the shooting, Young Thug posted a video to social media, saying that those who “tell the God’s truth” in the courtroom “need to get (expletive) killed bro, from me and YSL.”
It goes on to say that from May 2018 to May 2022, Young Thug assumed a leadership role in the YSL street gang. The rapper is alleged to have overseen numerous criminal activities during that time, including murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, carjacking, and drug possession.
The indictment says that Young Thug also allegedly committed several other crimes, including theft by receiving a stolen firearm in 2013, threatening to kill a Perimeter Mall employee in 2015, and possession of methamphetamine, hydrocodone, and marijuana in 2017.
TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!