Gunna, the rapper who was arrested in Atlanta in May as half of a RICO case towards the Young Slime Life (YSL) gang, was launched from jail Wednesday after getting into a negotiated guilty plea on a racketeering conspiracy charge.
The 29-year-old rapper, whose actual identify is Sergio Kitchens, was sentenced to 5 years in jail with 4 years suspended, in accordance to WSB-TV Channel 2 in Atlanta. The one-year sentence was then commuted to time served, with particular situations that embody 500 hours of group service.
The rapper’s sentence might be accomplished as soon as he does his group service, legal professional Steve Sadow stated. It will embody 350 hours talking to younger women and men in regards to the “hazards and immorality” of gangs and gang violence. He should avoid weapons and from his co-defendants except the communication goes by attorneys or his document label.
Gunna entered what’s often known as an Alford plea, which permits an individual to plead guilty — whereas nonetheless sustaining innocence — if it is believed the prosecution’s proof would seemingly end in a guilty verdict at trial.
“While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way,” the rapper stated in a press release obtained by The Times.
If Gunna is known as as a witness by anybody within the upcoming trial, which is about to begin in January, “He will testify truthfully, but he reserves his right to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination,” Sadow stated.
Gunna stated within the assertion that he didn’t take into account YSL to be a “gang” when he turned affiliated with the group in 2016. He stated he thought it was “more like a group of people from metro Atlanta who had common interests and artistic aspirations” and maintained that his focus in YSL was “entertainment — rap artists who wrote and performed music that exaggerated and ‘glorified’ urban life in the Black community.”
“I love and cherish my association with YSL music, and always will,” Gunna stated within the assertion. “I look at this as an opportunity to give back to my community and educate young men and women that ‘gangs’ and violence only lead to destruction.”
A 56-count grand jury indictment in May recognized Gunna, Young Thug (actual identify Jeffery Lamar Williams) and 26 others as members of YSL, a legal road gang. Some of the defendants had been charged with violent crimes equivalent 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 Young Thug was a founder 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.
Last week, a grand jury charged the 31-year-old with 4 extra counts associated to a May 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 Times.
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