Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram was assigned to take over the Young Thug/YSL RICO case. According to court documents, Judge Ingram just recused herself. In her Order of Recusal, filed Wednesday morning, Judge Ingram based her recusal on the fact that “her former courthouse deputy had a romantic relationship with one of the co-defendants, Christian Eppinger.” Because of this relationship, Judge Ingram feared it would create an “appearance of impropriety.”
As reported, Judge Ingram was randomly assigned to the case just two days ago after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Glanville was recused. She requested the case be reassigned.
Additional background information indicates that, according to the order, the “former deputy had been assigned to Judge Ingram’s courtroom for nearly six months before being arrested after investigators discovered her relationship with Eppinger.”
While Ingram did not identify the deputy, other court documents have identified her as Akeiba Stanley. FOX 5 Atlanta also reported on the deputy’s arrest in June 2023. See news coverage on the arrest: YSL RICO trial: Fulton County sheriff’s deputy arrested
A bizarre event lead to the disclosure of this improper relationship. “The relationship was discovered after Fulton County deputies seized the laptop belonging to Eppinger’s attorney, Eric Johnson, because Eppinger was allegedly using it to communicate with other YSL members who were not in custody.”
Matters become more convoluted and complex. “Two days later, Stanley was arrested for allegedly using a phone to communicate with Eppinger inside and outside of the courtroom. The sheriff’s deputy also allegedly visited Eppinger in his jail cell and attempted to smuggle contraband into the jail for him.”
The Order of Recusal states that although Judge Ingram does not believe the situation creates any “actual bias for or against any party to this case,” she views it as one that could cause a reasonable person to question the Court’s impartiality.