​YSL Trial: Defendant Accepts Plea Deal In GA Gang Case

ATLANTA, GA — At least one defendant in the widely followed gang and racketeering trial against rapper Jeffery "Young Thug" Williams and five others has taken a plea deal.

Before briefly recessing on Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker said a plea deal was in place for Quamarvious "Qua" Nichols, 29, in the YSL gang trial.

During the plea hearing, Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Simone Hylton claimed evidence showed Nichols was an associate of the suspected criminal street gang, Young Slime Life. Defense attorneys maintained YSL is Williams' record label and stands for Young Stoner Life.

Nichols, whose birthday is in a couple of days, entered a negotiated plea to Count 1 violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The state recommended 20 years, with seven years to be served in custody and the balance on probation.

Whitaker accepted the negotiated plea for Nichols, who is a husband and father of three children. She allowed him to receive some time served. Fulton County Jail records show Nichols has been incarcerated since March 17, 2022.

"You need to stay out of all kinds of criminal trouble," Whitaker said.

The state dismissed the charges of murder, participation in criminal street gang activity, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony against Nichols, Hylton said.

"He is an intelligent man who I believe has a future," an emotional attorney Bruce Harvey, representing Nichols, said during the plea hearing.

The now famous YSL trial against Williams and the others is the longest criminal trial ever held in Georgia, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

The plea deal comes nearly a week after Whitaker called the state's performance "sloppy" on Wednesday after defense attorneys alleged prosecutors are not properly preparing their witnesses.

Defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland, representing Nichols, was denied a motion for a mistrial with prejudice. However, Whitaker considered a mistrial without prejudice, meaning the case could be tried again.

No other plea deals were announced for the remaining defendants, leaving the status of the case up in the air.

Court was canceled last Thursday and Friday, with multiple media reports indicating defense attorneys might have been negotiating plea deals with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Talks of plea deals reportedly continued Monday; however, negotiations between Willis and defense attorneys occurred behind closed doors, and the public was not made aware of any potential conversations between the two parties. The day ended with no clear resolution.

This all came when state witness and rapper Wunnie "Slimelife Shawty" Lee testified Wednesday. Whitaker said he was given an unredacted version of a social media post that included the phrase "#freequa" — which he read in front of the jury.

Defense attorneys said the post included language that hinted a defendant named "Qua" was previously incarcerated. This was wording Westmoreland said prosecutors agreed would be redacted.

Aside from Nichols, Marquavius "Qua" Huey is a co-defendant in the trial. Careton R. Matthews Sr., who represents Huey, joined in the motion for a mistrial.

"Now, the jury has repeatedly heard about Mr. Nichols being in jail, being in prison, and you cannot un-ring that bell," Westmoreland said in court Wednesday. " ... It is painfully obvious that the state is not prepping their witnesses. ... This has happened repeatedly. It's happening over and over again, and we're just not going to be able to un-ring a hundred bells."

Whitaker said she believed what happened on the stand was a mistake but asked Westmoreland if she would like to request a mistrial without prejudice, to which Westmoreland responded, "Yes."

Whitaker did not decide on the motion on Wednesday.

Hylton said the slip-up on the witness stand "was not intentional," but Whitaker called it sloppy.

"I don't really care what the poster was referencing," Whitaker told the state regarding the social media post. "What I'm trying to do is fix your sloppiness so that everybody won't have wasted 10, 12 months of their lives in this trial."

The remaining defendants are Deamonte "Yak Gotti" Kendrick, Rodalius "Lil'Rod" Ryan and Shannon "SB" Stillwell (Jackson).

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The high-profile YSL trial is edging close to a year as opening statements began in November 2023.

Williams has been incarcerated since May 2022 and is facing multiple charges, including violating a racketeering law and participation in criminal street gang activity, Fulton County Jail records showed.

Twenty-eight defendants were arrested in the case, but several have taken plea deals. Charges vary among the group, from racketeering to murder.

Few of the co-defendants have testified in the lengthy and controversial trial, which has taken several twists and turns.

In December 2023, Stillwell was stabbed in the Rice Street Jail, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said at the time.

Authorities said a fight broke out between Stillwell and another inmate who was housed in the same zone. Stillwell was stabbed multiple times during the fight, authorities said.

One of the latest curveballs happened on Oct. 18 when Whitaker ruled witness and past co-defendant Antonio "Mounk Tounk" Sledge violated a plea deal through his testimony on the stand.

Whitaker revoked five years of Sledge's probation, which spanned more than 27 years remaining, and reinstated the balance. Sledge was immediately taken into custody. His original probation term was 30 years, but it was said during court he received some credit for time served.

On Oct. 22, the Georgia Supreme Court reversed a contempt order established by the trial's predecessor judge, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville.

Steel and attorney Keith Adams represent Williams.

After Steel revealed during a June court session that Glanville met with witness Kenneth "Lil' Woody" Copeland and prosecutors, unbeknownst to the defense, he vehemently declined to tell Glanville how he had learned of the meeting.

Witnesses later testified to the details of the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, Copeland evoked his Fifth Amendment rights and chose not to testify — a decision he later took back when he spent days testifying on the stand. Copeland is under an immunity order from the state.

Glanville ordered Steel to spend 20 days incarcerated on the weekends and ruled Steel was not entitled to a supersedeas bond — also known as an appeal bond sometimes used in civil cases, the Supreme Court said.

Steel appealed the contempt order, arguing the information received was protected by attorney-client privilege and that he did not interfere with the "court's administration of justice," according to the Supreme Court opinion.

Glanville was removed from the trial and replaced by Whitaker.