According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one of the jurors in the RICO case against Young Thug was given a three-day jail sentence after she was allegedly discovered recording the court proceedings.
The juror, only identified as juror 1004, was taken away in handcuffs on Monday after a judge criticized her for failing to follow instructions at the Fulton County Courthouse last month. The woman was caught filming a video on March 17, although authorities initially believed she was live-streaming the proceedings. “It wasn’t live-streamed at all,” she told the judge while admitting she recorded a video and later deleted it. “I did take a video and then the young lady next to me said I couldn’t do that.”
Deputies confiscated her phone and discovered the video in the “recently deleted” folder. When questioned about the incident, she said that it was her first time serving jury duty and she was unaware she could not film the court. “I went through a very long and arduous process of telling people what they could not do and you violated that,” Chief Judge Ural Glanville told her. “And you put this trial in jeopardy by doing that.” The juror was handcuffed in front of the defendants in the RICO case and was led away by officers.
“On its face, this seems like a very severe punishment, but it’s different in gang trials because you’re dealing with people against whom retribution could be sought,” added defense attorney Lester Tate, who is not attached to the case.
The RICO case against Thug and his YSL associates has dragged on ever since their arrest over a year ago, and this latest incident is just another in a long line of hold-ups for the case. Earlier this year, for instance, one potential juror traveled to the Dominican Republic instead of attending jury duty and was ordered to write a research paper. Another juror received a warning when he allegedly texted a reporter about the then-ongoing jury selection process.