Shannon Stillwell, one of the criminal defendants in the Fulton County, Atlanta, gang trial variously referred to as the Young Slime Life (YSL) gang trial or the Young Thug trial, was stabbed over the weekend. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville delayed the trial. “The sheriff’s office did not reveal Stillwell’s condition. They also did not give any information about what might have led to the stabbing.”
As quoted by news reports, the jury for the YSL trial was dismissed Monday morning because of what Judge Glanville euphemized as a “medical issue” which issue was connected with one of the “participants” in the trial. “The judge told the jury they are expected to return at 9 a.m. Tuesday and he will let them know at that time if they are able to continue.”
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office informed that Stillwell was stabbed over the weekend. Stillwell was one of many defendants charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Charges against Stillwell include “murder, participation in a criminal street gang, and gun charges.”
Stillwell, also known as Shannon Jackson and “SB,” is one of five defendants specifically charged with the 2015 “murder and attempted murder in connection with the death of Donovan Thomas Jr.” Reporting indicates that Thomas, 26, was shot and killed at a barbershop in Castleberry Hill. According to prosecutors, two other victims – one a 14-year-old boy – were also shot. Prosecutors allege that Thomas “was a major figure in a rival gang and whose death is said to have sparked an escalation in violence.” Prosecutors allege, additionally, “Young Thug rented the car used in the drive-by shooting.”
Some of the evidence and proposed offered evidence is intriguing. Brian Steel, Young Thug’s lawyer, in July filed pleadings to prohibit the introduction into evidence of a video of Stillwell’s arrest. According to Steel’s pleadings, “Stillwell was arrested at his home in East Point while in the midst of a religious ceremony which involved supposed sacrifice of goats.”
A snippet of testimony by prosecutor witnesses such as Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers, indicated that during testimony on December 4, an APD investigator pulled over defendant Quamarvious Nicols and Stillwell and “noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.” After a search, the police officer and his partner “recovered drugs and a gun during the stop.”
An example of the incriminating statements extracted from some of the criminal defendants is seen in Rapper Gunna, Sergio Kitchens, statement when he pled guilty under an “Alford plea” in December. Gunna stated “Yes, ma’am” when a prosecutor said that “YSL is a music label and a gang” and that Gunna had knowledge that its members or associates had committed crimes in furtherance of the gang.