Prosecutors said Monday that the last two defendants in a long-running gang and racketeering trial committed murder on behalf of an Atlanta street gang co-founded by rapper Young Thug.
But defense attorneys said the state slapped together cherry-picked social media posts and song lyrics with unreliable witness testimony to paint a misleading narrative about young men from tough upbringings who tried to escape poverty through music.
It’s now up to a jury to decide whether to convict Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick, who raps as Yak Gotti, on gang, murder, drug and gun charges. The original indictment charged 28 people with conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
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