Jeffery Lamar Williams, who performs as Young Thug, was arrested at his home in Atlanta on Monday, according to police. He was booked into the Fulton County jail and charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and participation in criminal street gang activity.
According to the indictment, Williams along with 27 associates of the enterprise Young Slime Life, “conspired to associate together and with others for the common purposes of illegally obtaining money and property through a pattern of racketeering activity and conducting and participating in the enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity.”
Among Williams’ alleged associates named in the indictment is fellow rapper Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens. Kitchens has also been charged with conspiracy to violate RICO, according to the indictment. As of Tuesday morning, Kitchens was not in police custody, police said.
In the indictment, prosecutors said Williams along with two other defendants founded the YSL gang in late 2012 and claimed to have affiliations with the national Bloods gang.
Other alleged members of the YSL enterprise are accused of violent offenses in the indictment, including murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and armed robbery. The alleged offenses date back as early as 2013.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the removal of these 28 defendants off the street will help keep the community safe.
“It does not matter what your notoriety is, what your fame is. If you come to Fulton County, Georgia and you commit crimes and certainly if those crimes are in furtherance of a street gang then you are going to become a target and a focus of this district attorney’s office,” Willis said.
In a statement to CNN affiliate WSB, Williams’ attorney Brian Steel said, “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.”
CNN’s Jason Morris contributed to this report.
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