ATLANTA — Young Thug's legal team is asking to toss out a goat sacrifice as evidence in the Atlanta rapper's RICO trial.
Attorneys for the rapper, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams, filed a motion to exclude this specific piece of evidence that was part of Shannon Stillwell's 2022 arrest.
A motion filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County Thursday said Williams was never involved or arrested on March 17, 2022. Stillwell's arrest stems from a man's murder - a charge Williams is not connected to, his attorneys said.
Law enforcement took Stillwell into custody at a home along Meadowlark Drive in East Point last year "while amid a religious ceremony which involved supposed sacrifice of goats."
Stillwell, also known as SB, is still on the list of defendants in the Fulton County District Attorney's RICO case that accuses Young Thug of being the ringleader of the prominent Young Slime Life gang.
Court records claim there is no benefit to showing evidence of the religious ceremony to jurors, adding that prejudice against the religious practice is commonplace.
"A reasonable person can also view this as character evidence as well," the motion reads.
The motion argues that though the ceremony had nothing to do with Williams, it could negatively impact his case and his co-defendants'.
The motion is the latest filing in the more-than-year-long RICO case that has kept Williams in the Cobb County Jail for nearly as long. His bond was denied again last week.
He's remained behind bars, awaiting trial on YSL RICO charges. Jury selection started in January and one has yet to be seated.
Why is Young Thug in jail?
The rapper, Jeffery Williams, was one of 28 people originally charged with being part of the Young Slime Life street gang in a sweeping indictment brought last year by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
In particular, the Fulton County DA is targeting Young Thug as the alleged head of the gang - "he's the one they're all afraid of, he's the one that's King Slime," is how one prosecutor put it during a previous bond hearing.
However, the rapper's attorneys have argued there is no foundation for these accusations, saying he's being punished on the basis of rap lyrics and social media posts and little to no evidence of any criminal acts. They have emphasized his influence on the Cleveland Avenue community and to art.
Already, the YSL RICO trial is on pace to shatter records as the longest criminal trial in Fulton County history.