A witness in rapper Young Thug’s racketeering trial told the jury he was going to fall asleep on the stand because he was ‘so high right now’.
Adrian Bean was called by the prosecution on Tuesday in the long-running Young Slime Life racketeering trial against Jeffery Williams, better known as Young Thug.
The state was hoping Bean would be able to establish that Young Thug was at the scene of a drive-by shooting on September 11, 2023.
But he has not offered any helpful information in the case so far, and when he took the stand on Tuesday he had to ask for water and then said: ‘I’m so high right now, y’all, I’m about to go to sleep on y’all now. I am.’
Throughout his testimony he has claimed that he cannot remember the shooting or the subsequent car crash because he was frequently on drugs throughout 2013.
Adrian Bean asked for a bottle of water and then told jurors he was ‘so high’ he might ‘fall asleep’ during his testimony
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, in court for his racketeering trial
Taking the stand on Tuesday, Bean leant forward in his chair and got the attention of court officials, saying: ‘Man, umm.
‘Can I get a water or something? I’m so high right now, y’all, I’m about to go to sleep on y’all now. I am.’
An attorney then approached him and Judge Ural Glanville allowed the lawyer to bring Bean a bottle of water and then allowed the testimony to continue.
In the trial, prosecutors allege Young Thug led a violent street gang called Young Slime Life, or YSL, that was responsible for killings, shootings, carjackings and other crimes over about a decade.
Prosecutors allege that he used his successful music career and social media posts to promote the gang and establish its dominance.
Bean has testified that he was addicted to ‘molly’ at the time and could not recall anything from the period in question.
He said he also couldn’t remember what he said during a January 2023 meeting with Thug’s lead defence attorney, Brian Steel, where he said: ‘Young Thug was not in the car with us that day. I don’t even know how his name really got mentioned.’
Steel then accused him of being untruthful.
Bean’s latest comments about being high during the trial will call into question his reliability and the properness of his presence in the court.
It is the latest controversy in the long-running trial against Williams and five other defendants, Shannon ‘SB’ Stillwell, Marquavius ‘Qua’ Huey, Deamonte ‘Yak Gotti’ Kendrick, Quamarvious ‘Qua’ Nichols, and Rodalius ‘Lil Rod’ Ryan.
Defense attorneys have said police and prosecutors relied heavily on jailhouse informants who had every reason to tell them what they wanted to hear.
They have also criticized prosecutors´ use of rap lyrics as evidence of crimes, saying their clients´ art and free expression are being improperly used against them.
An attorney brought him some water and then Judge Ural Glanville allowed his testimony to continue
Prosecutors were hoping he would help them show Young Thug was at the scene of a drive by shooting in 2013, but he has said he cannot remember most of the year as he was on drugs
The rapper was pictured in his mug shot in May of 2022 following his arrest in the case
The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, has appeared in court to give testimony and wore a controversial shirt
The rapper was seen filing through papers during the court hearing
The Grammy winner was charged in 2022 in a sprawling indictment that accused him and more than two dozen others of conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law.
Fulton County prosecutor Adriane Love didn’t dispute that Young Thug is a talented artist, but she said he exploited his gift for a darker purpose, using his songs, clout and social media posts to promote and establish the dominance of his gang, Young Slime Life, or YSL.
‘Through that music, through that blessing, the evidence will show, Jeffery Williams led that group of people who wreaked utter havoc on Fulton County,’ Love told jurors during her opening statement November 27.
Defense attorney Brian Steel acknowledged that his client’s songs mention killing police, people being shot, drugs and drive-by shootings, but he said those are just the words he rhymed and a reflection of his rough upbringing and not a chronicle of his own activities.
‘They want you to fear music that talks about killing, drugs,’ Steel told the jury in his opening statement Tuesday. ‘It is art. You don´t like it, you don´t have to listen to it. This is America. It is art.’
Steel mentioned Young Thug’s collaborations with high-profile artists, appearances on television and numerous awards and riches that came with it. The rapper is so busy and successful that he wouldn’t have the time or motivation to lead a gang, Steel said.
‘He is not sitting there telling people to kill people,’ he said. ‘He doesn´t need their money. Jeffrey´s worth tens of millions of dollars.’
The gang began about a decade ago in Atlanta´s Cleveland Avenue neighborhood, born of an internal rift in a preceding gang, and Young Thug emerged as its leader, Love said. The gang´s members were ‘associated in fact’ – using common identifiers, language, symbols and colors – and they ‘knew who their leader was and they knew the repercussions of not obeying their leader,’ she said.
The recording artist was pictured onstage in Chicago in August of 2021
The people who have been affected directly and indirectly by the gang’s violence represent the lives ‘swallowed up by that crater created by YSL in the Cleveland Avenue community,’ Love said.
Young Thug was born into poverty in a crime-ridden housing project where he developed a strong distrust of the criminal justice system, Steel said. His family moved to the Cleveland Avenue area when he was 16, and he got out through hard work and talent, Steel said. But he didn’t forget his roots and has been extremely generous with his good fortune, Steel said.
‘He´s not the crater. He´s trying to pull people out of poverty,’ Steel said.
The indictment charges all the defendants with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Love acknowledged that may sound complicated but told the jurors it’s actually quite simple.
The members of the gang committed crimes, including murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and theft to further the gang’s mission, she said. Those actions and others that aren’t crimes – rap lyrics, social media posts, flashing gang signs – combined to form a pattern of illegal activity, she said.
‘They endeavored to do some illegal stuff to get a bunch of stuff that didn’t belong to them,’ Love said.
Prosecutors have made clear that they intend to use rap lyrics from songs by the defendants to help make their case. This is a controversial tactic, but Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville earlier this month said he’d conditionally allow certain lyrics as long as prosecutors can show they’re linked to the crimes alleged in the indictment.
Prosecutors have said they’re not pursuing Young Thug and others because of violent lyrics.
‘We didn´t chase the lyrics to solve the murders,’ Love said. ‘We chased the murders and, as the evidence will show, in the process, we found the lyrics.’
