Rapper Young Thug was arrested Monday after being named in a 56-count indictment on charges of conspiracy to violate Georgia’s RICO act and street gang charges, according to jail records.
Young Thug, 30, whose real name Jeffery Lamar Williams, was one of 28 defendants named in the indictment along with fellow rapper Gunna, 28, real name Sergio Giavanni Kitchens. Both are charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Young Thug was arrested at his home in Buckhead, an Atlanta neighborhood just north of downtown and is being held at the Fulton County Jail. It was not immediately known if Gunna has been arrested.
More:Young Thug sues apartment property after bag with more than $100,000 in valuables was stolen
The conspiracy charge filed against the defendants date back to 2013 and the gang charge to 2018, the jail record says.
Young Thug is allegedly one of three founders of the Young Slime Life, “a criminal street gang that started in late 2012” in Atlanta. YSL is affiliated with the national Bloods gang, officials said. Charges include “Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise through acts of racketeering activity including murder, assault and threats of violence.”
Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel maintained his client’s innocence telling USA TODAY in a statement, “Mr. Williams has committed no violation of law, whatsoever. We will fight this case ethically, legally and zealously. Mr. Williams will be cleared.”
The rapper will make his first court appearance on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Gunna and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office for comment and further details.
This isn’t the first time Young Thug has faced legal trouble.
In 2018, the rapper was arrested at his own birthday party, which doubled as a listening event for his compilation release “Slime Language,” after the Los Angeles Police Department found a firearm in his car. LAPD booking documents showed the rapper was arrested just before midnight and held until the early hours of the morning with bail listed at $35,000.
Young Thug was previously arrested in September 2017 on gun and drug charges following a traffic stop near Atlanta.
Contributing: Maeve McDermott, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
