Authorities are seeking to imprison another defendant who took a plea deal in Young Thug’s sprawling gang case after he was arrested on a misdemeanor shoplifting charge over the summer.
Records show Antonio Sumlin, also known by the nickname Obama, was arrested Aug. 8 in DeKalb County. Sumlin was one of several defendants who avoided trial by pleading guilty in late 2022, weeks before jury selection began.
Nearly two years later, Fulton County prosecutors are still presenting their case in what has become the longest criminal trial in Georgia history.
Court filings show the state is seeking to revoke Sumlin’s probation and have Judge Paige Reese Whitaker sentence him to prison. Sumlin was given 15 years’ probation after pleading guilty to conspiring to violate the state’s RICO act, two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and participation in criminal street gang activity.
As part of the deal, he was given a curfew and required to testify truthfully if called as a witness in the case. He has not testified yet and it’s unclear whether prosecutors still plan to call him to the stand.
If his probation is revoked, Sumlin would be the third defendant sentenced to prison for violating the conditions of their plea agreement.
Young Thug’s brother, Quantavious Grier, was sentenced to more than nine years in June 2023 after authorities found a gun in his car outside an Atlanta gas station. And last week, Whitaker sentenced former defendant Antonio Sledge to five years in prison after determining he was dishonest during his testimony in September.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
No date has been set for Sumlin’s probation revocation hearing.
Prosecutors say Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is the leader of Young Slime Life, which they contend is an Atlanta-based gang responsible for a spate of robberies, shootings and murders. Defense attorneys maintain their clients are innocent and say YSL is simply the name of the rapper’s music label.
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