Young Thug’s attorney Brian Steel delivered opening statements in the YSL RICO trial on Tuesday (November 28). Steel claimed Georgia prosecutors wrongfully portrayed his client as the leader of a gang. The lawyer insisted a successful rapper like his client had no reason to engage in the criminal activity cited in the case.
“He is not running this criminal street gang in [the] Cleveland Avenue area of Bleveland to gain property, money or power,” Steel said. “Jeffery Williams did it on will and hard work and determination without anybody’s help except the people from that area that he will not turn his back on.”
Young Thug’s lawyer added, “He is not sitting there telling people to kill people. He doesn’t need their money. Jeffery’s worth tens of millions of dollars.”
Steel told jurors his client did not know many of the 28 people named in the YSL RICO indictment. The defense attorney suggested Young Thug’s fame and generosity were exploited by others.
“You will learn that Jeffery doesn’t even know most of the people in this indictment,” Steel said. “He doesn’t know them. They all know him because everybody in that area knows Jeffery Williams. He is known as the Michael Jordan of that area. And he didn’t get out and stay away. He tries to come back and give people hope because he knows what it is to be depressed, hungry and have nothing going for you.”
Steel also denied Young Thug’s involvement in the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas. The lawyer said Thomas was a friend of his client. Steel accused Kenneth Copeland, who allegedly implicated Young Thug in the murder, of lying. Steel referenced an earlier portion of his opening statements in which he detailed his client’s distrust of the criminal justice system and the reliability of snitches.
“Kenneth Copeland is one of those liars in the neighborhood that everyone knows that becomes a witness, swears to tell the God’s honest truth,” Steel said.
Steel’s opening statements also included his description of Young Thug’s stage name and the YSL moniker. The attorney said Thug stood for “Truly Humbled Under God” and linked YSL’s origins to the Yves Saint Laurent brand.
Young Thug’s trial began after a lengthy jury selection process on Monday (November 27). He is one of six defendants in the YSL RICO trial.
