This story was updated on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 6:29 p.m.

After almost a year of testimony in a large gang and racketeering charges against Young thug and 27 initial defendants, prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in the longest trial in Georgia history.

Deamonte Kendrick, also known as Yak Gotti, and Shannon Stillwell told the judge Tuesday they would not testify in their own defense. Both had previously rejected plea offers after more than a week of negotiations.

Defense attorneys said they will ask Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker to order the jury to return a not guilty verdict against Kendrick and Stillwell on Wednesday, requiring attorneys to argue that no reasonable person could conclude that the State had proven Kendrick and Stillwell guilty.

If Whitaker rejects the directed verdict request, attorneys will likely discuss on Wednesday instructions to jurors on what they need to find to convict Kendrick and Stillwell.

Jurors will return Thursday and could begin their deliberations before the end of the week.

Young Thug, the 33-year-old Atlanta-born Grammy-winning artist whose first name is Jeffery Williams, pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges in October after negotiations with prosecutors. That left the sentencing to Whitaker, who gave him a 40-year sentence that allowed him walk freely on probation with heavy restrictions, including a ban from the metro Atlanta area for the first 10 years except on certain occasions.

This trial, which is progressing slowly, has been fraught with pitfalls from the start. Jury selection has taken place almost 10 monthsand Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville, the original judge, was removed from the case in July after defense attorneys filed a motion for recusal based on a secret meeting that he held with prosecutors and a state’s witness.

Whitaker took over the case and often lost patience with prosecutors because of what she once called a “bad lawyer.” She and defense attorneys chastised prosecutors for not sharing evidence in advance.

More than 175 witnesses testified throughout the trial. Prosecutors alleged that Young Thug and two others co-founded a violent criminal street gang in 2012 called Young Slime Life, or YSL, which they say is affiliated with the national Bloods gang.

During Young Thug’s plea hearing, defense attorney Brian Steel said Young Thug had been “falsely accused” and that the evidence against him was weak. He also condemned the use of rap lyrics during the trial.

Steel said he thought they were winning the trial and wanted to stick with the jury’s verdict, but Young Thug wanted to go home to his family instead of sitting out the rest of the trial, which felt like to a “hell”.

Nine people charged in indictment, including Atlanta rapper Gunnareal name Sergio Kitchens, agreed to the plea deals before the trial began. Twelve others must be tried separately. Prosecutors dropped charges against a defendant after he was convicted of murder in an unrelated case.