Gunna’s lawyer has issued a statement surrounding the ongoing allegations that his client cooperated with authorities in the YSL RICO case.
Gunna (real name Sergio Kitchens) was released from jail in December after signing an Alford plea and in turn pleading guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge.
He was sentenced to five years with one year served due to the time he spent behind bars after being arrested last May as part of the sweeping indictment against YSL, which prosecutors allege is a “criminal street gang.”
The DS4Ever rapper has faced an onslaught of snitching allegations since pleading out but has insisted from day one that he never snitched on anyone.
“While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way,” he said in a statement following his release from jail.
Gunna’s plea deal has been a talking point amongst rappers and fans alike, and following an Okayplayer article that interviewed legal experts to discuss Alford pleas, Gunna’s legal team commented on the story and reaffirmed their client’s innocence, claiming he “never” cooperated with authorities.
“Gunna has never been interviewed by or cooperated with law enforcement or prosecutors in the RICO case,” the statement read. “Nor have his attorneys proffered information on his behalf.”
They continued, “What was said at his Alford plea hearing was solely to resolve his own case. It cannot be used by the prosecution against Young Thug or any other defendant.”
Gunna’s team issued a statement reiterating that he has not cooperated w/ prosecutors after reading this article: “Gunna has never been interviewed by or cooperated with law enforcement or prosecutors in the RICO case. Nor have his attorneys proffered information on his behalf.” https://t.co/J3LvKKIX48
— Jewel Wicker (@jewelwickershow) February 19, 2023
Full statement from attorney Sadow:
(Transparency: I, of course, reached out when I was reporting this story. They initially declined to comment out of concern that it wouldn’t help quiet the snitching rumors which were trending online a lot in January.) pic.twitter.com/3mR4vCJ2dp
— Jewel Wicker (@jewelwickershow) February 19, 2023
While Gunna has kept a low profile since getting out of jail, that hasn’t stopped people from clowning him for his alleged snitching. He was recently taunted yet again by a Gunna impersonator on YouTube, which the Atlanta rapper seemed to respond to with numerous laughing emojis on his Instagram Story.
As for Young Thug, the YSL leader has suffered a string of bad luck during the jury selection process in the RICO trial. Thug’s lawyer Brian Steele previously claimed that a potential juror had attempted to reach out to him via email. While the contents of the message weren’t disclosed during the hearing, it was enough for the judge to order an investigation.
Young Thug and Gunna’s ongoing YSL RICO case has also been turned into a Hulu documentary set to air on February 23.
The hour-long documentary, made by ABC News Studios, is titled Rap Trap: Hip-Hop on Trial and will focus on the sprawling criminal case against Thug, Gunna and their Atlanta-based collective while exploring the debate around rap lyrics being used as evidence in criminal prosecutions.
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