By Tim Darnell
Published: Jun. 11, 2024 at 8:42 AM EDT|Updated: Jun. 11, 2024 at 7:00 PM EDT
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - One of the prosecution’s key witnesses resumed testimony Tuesday morning only hours after one of Young Thug’s attorneys was held in criminal contempt and given nearly three weeks’ worth of jail time.
On Monday evening, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ordered Brian Steel be held in the Fulton County Jail for no more than 20 days, consisting of every weekend for the next 10 weekends.
Steel was taken into custody Monday afternoon when he refused to answer repeated requests from Glanville on how he heard about a conversation during a meeting that involved prosecutors, the judge and a key witness.
Watch Brian Steel, Young Thug’s attorney, taken into custody:
Kenneth Copeland - aka Lil Woody - returned to the stand Tuesday after having previously been held in contempt himself on Friday. Copeland is an Atlanta musician widely believed to have informed police of the rapper’s alleged criminal activities.
On Tuesday, Copeland identified himself in old pictures with defendant Shannon Stillwell. Prosecutors then began questioning his relationship with co-defendants Jeffery Williams, aka Young Thug, and Deamonte Kendrick, also known as Yak Gotti.
While on the stand, Copeland indicated he wants nothing to do with his stand-in attorney.
“Is it your desire to release your counsel at this point in time?” Glanville asked.
“She’s fired,” Copeland responded.
The judge informed the witness he can hire another lawyer, or the court can appoint him a lawyer.
Copeland later asked, “What do I need a lawyer for?”
In 2021, Copeland was arrested in Fulton County after a traffic stop uncovered a weapon on him. Copeland, already a convicted felon, could have been facing a 10-year jail sentence for having the weapon, but over the course of a three-hour interrogation, Copeland told detectives about several crimes that had happened and were about to occur.
Copeland was sentenced to federal prison on Oct. 22, 2018, for being a felon in possession of a firearm after bringing an assault rifle into the Dunbar Recreational Center Gymnasium in Atlanta’s Mechanicsville community.
Despite the presence of approximately 20 members of the public, including children, Copeland left the assault rifle on the bleachers and went to play basketball. A citizen called 911 and Copeland was eventually convicted of multiple prior felonies.
Jeffery Williams - aka Young Thug - was arrested on May 9, 2022, along with 27 other suspected gang members in Buckhead as part of a 56-count indictment.
Two years later, Young Thug remains on trial in an Atlanta courtroom. The trial’s jury selection lasted longer than any other in Georgia history, and actual witness testimony itself will likely surpass state records. Both records were set by the Atlanta Public Schools teacher scandal and trial of 2014-15.
The trial – which has been repeatedly plagued by arrests, charges and disruptions – began on Nov. 27, with an opening statement from Fulton County Assistant Chief District Attorney Adriane Love. Defense attorneys have repeatedly raised concerns that the trial could go on for years based on the number of witnesses the state plans to call up.
Prosecutors are attempting to show YSL, or Young Slime Life, is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous offenses. Defense attorneys say YSL is not a gang but simply the name of a record label, Young Stoner Life.
Young Thug himself is facing eight criminal counts under a federal law that was originally enacted to fight organized crime. Georgia is one of 33 states that has its own RICO law, but in the Peach State, the alleged criminal enterprises do not have to have existed as long as the federal law.
Williams is also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; possession of codeine with intent to distribute; possession of cocaine; possession of a firearm; and possession of a machine gun.
Attorneys for Williams argue the artist is not the leader of an alleged gang like prosecutors claim.
A total of 18 jurors have been selected, with six of them being alternates. Two jurors have already been excused; one had a medical emergency, and the other moved out of Fulton County.
Atlanta News First is broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage of Young Thug’s trial on its live stream and YouTube channel.
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