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Nothing seems to be going Young Stoner Life’s way lately, as promising YSL star and Young Thug protégé Lil Keed suddenly passed away over the weekend. He was only 24-years-old.
Amid Keed’s death, his brother and fellow rapper Lil Gotit was the one to break the news to both Thug and Gunna. The pair are currently incarcerated at Fulton County Jail in Georgia awaiting trial for their felony RICO charges, as Gotit took to Instagram to explain how Thug and Gunna are dealing with the loss of Keed while locked up.
“Talked to [Young Thug] yesterday,” he wrote. “keed u fucked him up with this one but we know you guarding him through these times and make sure he gone be alright We da Proud Family can’t nothing stop us… Talked to [Gunna], he good, just sad what’s goin on wit twin but everything gone be in our favor.”
Keed’s death comes days after Thug and Gunna were denied bond from Fulton County. Following a raid at his home in Buckhead, Georgia, Thug was additionally booked for a large quantity of drugs and illegal possession of firearms — which included a sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle and fully automatic machine gun. A total of seven new felony charges were added to Thug’s rapsheet.
The bond denial stems from Judge Robert Wolf declaring Thug as a “flight risk” with potential to commit further crimes if he was released. However, he will have another opportunity to request bond once a hearing date is set for his RICO indictment.
The PUNK rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, was admitted into Fulton County Jail on May 9 where he currently awaits trial for accusations of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and involvement in criminal gang activity, per WSB-TV.
The grounds for this RICO charge are based on alleged offenses — one in January 2013, and the other in May 2018, as well as a 56-count grand jury indictment from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. YSL superstar Gunna was also charged for one count in violation of RICO and was booked into Fulton County Jail on May 11.
XXL reported that one of these incidents alleged that members of YSL sought out Thug for permission to order a hit on rapper YFN Lucci while he was jailed in Atlanta. Thug appeared in court via Zoom on May 10, but did not say a single word.
Young Thug’s attorney claimed his innocence to WSB-TV and had this to say following his arrest: “I’ll tell you the response to any allegation is Mr. Williams committed no crime whatsoever and we will fight to my last drop of blood to clear him.”
According to Rolling Stone and Complex, the grand jury indictment also lists the names of 28 YSL affiliates involved in this activity. The aforementioned report refers to Young Stoner Life as a “criminal street gang that started in late 2012” that “claims affiliation with the national Bloods gang.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
The indictment states that Thug and YSL member engaged in activities such as:
- Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise through acts of racketeering activity including murder, assault and threats of violence;
- Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise by the posting of messages, images, videos and songs, demonstrating allegiance to the enterprise and a willingness to engage in violence on its behalf;
- Maintaining armed individuals ready and willing to preserve, protect and enhance the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise through the use of violence;
- Obtaining money, weapons and other property through acts of racketeering activity, including robbery, theft and the unlawful sale and distribution of drugs;
- Obstructing law enforcement investigations and court proceedings through witness intimidation and attacks upon law enforcement officers.
