Young Thug will have to continue Pushing (P)enitentiary with fellow rapper Gunna.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta rapper was denied bond by a Superior Court judge on Thursday after a hearing in connection with his racketeering case.
Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, pleaded not guilty during the hearing. The judge took sides with the prosecution, who argued that they were worried that witnesses would be intimidated if the rapper was released on bond.
Thug’s attorney’s promised that they would hire law enforcement officers to monitor their client’s activity 24/7 while in home confinement. Witnesses testified in favor of the “Hot” rapper but the judge still denied his bond.
The rap star watched remotely from a room at a detention center for 10 hours. There was even a moment when people at the hearing laughed after the rapper asked if he could go to the restroom. The judge was not as amused.
From the AJC:
Attorney Brian Steel said Williams offered to be placed on house arrest at any one of his four Atlanta-area homes before trial.
Steel said his client was also willing to wear an ankle monitor, undergo regular drug tests and surrender his cellphone and passport. All he would want, Steel said, was access to an in-home recording studio.
Such an undertaking likely would have cost Williams more than $1 million a year, Steel said, but it would get him out of a Cobb County jail cell where he spends more than 22 hours a day in protective custody.
Prosecutors have been arguing that Young Thug is the leader of Young Slime Life (YSL), which they claim is a criminal street gang responsible for a lot of violence and illegal activity in Atlanta over the last couple of years including drug possession and murder, according to the AJC.
Last month, Thug, Gunna and members of YSL were charged and arrested in a huge 56-count court indictment. The prosecution is willing to offer plea deals to some of the YSL members if they cooperate.
The trial date is not set to begin until Jan. 9, 2023.