Young Thug Shootings: RICO Case, Plea Deal, and Probation

Young Thug — the Atlanta rapper Jeffery Lamar Williams — has been tied to two headline shootings during his career: the April 2015 attack on Lil Wayne’s tour buses outside Atlanta, and a May 2019 drive-by that targeted his entourage on a Miami interstate. Neither shooting produced a shooting charge against Williams himself, but the 2015 incident became a central overt act in the Fulton County racketeering case that put him in jail for more than 900 days and ended in October 2024 with a guilty plea and 15 years of probation.

The 2015 Shooting of Lil Wayne’s Tour Buses

On April 26, 2015, gunmen fired on Lil Wayne’s two tour buses as they moved along Interstate 285 in Cobb County, Georgia, after a performance at an Atlanta nightclub. The driver, Alvin Lewis, later testified that shots hit the engine, radiator, and side of the bus. No one was killed.

The attack traced back to a feud between Lil Wayne and Young Thug that had grown out of Young Thug titling a mixtape Barter 6, which Lil Wayne treated as a shot at his Tha Carter series.¹

Prosecutors charged Jimmy Carlton Winfrey, a music executive and childhood friend of Young Thug known as “Peewee Roscoe,” with carrying out the shooting. His initial indictment ran to 30 counts, including aggravated assault, criminal damage, firearms charges, and violations of Georgia’s RICO Act and Street Gang Terrorism Prevention Act. Prosecutors said Winfrey acted to gain “street cred” and pointed to a social media video Young Thug had posted five days before the shooting that showed Winfrey and weapons in what looked like a threat aimed at Lil Wayne. Winfrey had also appeared in Young Thug’s “Halftime” music video holding an assault rifle similar to the one used in the attack.²

Winfrey pleaded guilty to six gang-related charges and drew a 20-year sentence, 10 in prison and 10 on probation. In 2018 the Georgia Supreme Court reversed that conviction, ruling the trial judge had coerced Winfrey into the plea by pressuring him at pretrial hearings and warning that she had a “reputation for being tough.”³ Winfrey was later re-charged as part of the 2022 YSL RICO indictment and, in December 2024, pleaded guilty to RICO, gun, and drug charges. He received time served plus eight years of probation.⁴

Investigators publicly linked the shooting to a dispute involving Lil Wayne, Young Thug, and Cash Money Records CEO Bryan “Birdman” Williams. After the attack, Winfrey placed a call to a phone registered to Birdman, who denied any involvement.⁵

The 2019 Miami Drive-By

Around 6:30 a.m. on May 10, 2019, an SUV pulled alongside two party buses carrying Young Thug’s entourage on Interstate 95 in Miami-Dade County and a passenger opened fire. The group had just left LIV Nightclub. Young Thug was not on the buses; he was trailing in a separate Ferrari and was not injured.⁶ Three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at local hospitals.⁷

A spokesperson for Young Thug said the rapper “was not involved in the incident” and that the shots were aimed at a vehicle carrying DJ Keyz, who sustained a minor injury.⁸ Florida Highway Patrol troopers suggested the shooting may have grown out of an earlier altercation at a venue in northeastern Miami-Dade. No arrests were reported and the investigation does not appear to have produced charges.⁷

How the 2015 Shooting Fed the YSL RICO Case

In May 2022, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Young Thug and 27 associates on charges built around Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. A larger reindictment followed in August 2022. Prosecutors alleged Young Slime Life was not a record label but a criminal street gang founded in 2012 by Williams, Walter Murphy, and Trontavious Stephens in Atlanta’s Cleveland Avenue neighborhood.⁹

The indictment covered a conspiracy period running from January 2013 through May 2022 and included 56 counts across murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, carjacking, drugs, and firearms.⁹ Young Thug personally faced eight charges, among them conspiracy to violate RICO, participation in criminal street gang activity, and drug and firearms counts.¹⁰

The 2015 tour bus shooting was folded into the case as one of the overt acts prosecutors cited as evidence of the racketeering conspiracy.⁴ Opening statements began on November 27, 2023, after nearly a year of jury selection, and the trial ran a total of 170 courtroom days over roughly three years.

Young Thug’s Plea Deal and Probation Terms

On October 31, 2024, after more than 900 days in jail, Young Thug entered a non-negotiated, or “blind,” guilty plea. He pleaded guilty to six charges, including participation in criminal street gang activity and possession of drugs and firearms, and entered no-contest pleas to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and leading a criminal street gang.¹¹

Judge Paige Reese Whitaker sentenced him to a total of 40 years, with the first five commuted to time served. She placed him on 15 years of probation and suspended 20 years of prison time over his head, meaning he goes to prison for two decades if he violates the terms.¹²

The probation conditions are unusually specific:

Stay out of metro Atlanta for 10 years, with narrow exceptions for weddings, funerals, graduations, and medical emergencies, leaving within 48 hours of any such event.¹³
Return to Atlanta four times a year to deliver live anti-gang and anti-gun violence presentations to children.¹²
Complete 100 hours of community service per year.¹³
Avoid all gang activity, including associating with gang members, promoting gangs, using gang terminology or hand signs, or possessing firearms. Association carve-outs were made for his brother Quantavious Grier and rapper Gunna.¹²
Submit to random drug tests and property searches, with probation officer reporting required for the first half of the term.¹⁴

Williams walked out of the Fulton County Jail the evening of October 31, 2024.¹²

Where the Rest of the Case Landed

Despite eight murder charges tied to two separate killings, the YSL prosecution produced no murder convictions. Of the 28 original defendants, 19 pleaded guilty, seven had charges dropped, one was acquitted on all counts, and one was convicted by a jury on a single gun charge.¹⁵

Some of the key individual outcomes:

Rapper Gunna (Sergio Kitchens) pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate RICO before the trial began and received five years, with one year commuted to time served and four suspended.¹⁰
Yak Gotti (Deamonte Kendrick) was found not guilty on all charges, including murder.¹⁶
Shannon Stillwell was acquitted of racketeering, murder, and gang charges but convicted of one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He received the 10-year statutory maximum, with two years’ credit for time served and the rest on probation.¹⁶
Christian Eppinger, accused of shooting Atlanta Police Officer David Rodgers six times in February 2022 while Rodgers tried to serve an arrest warrant (with one bullet striking Rodgers in the back of the head), entered a non-negotiated Alford plea on June 9, 2025, moments before jury selection was to begin. He was sentenced to 75 years, with 40 to serve, running concurrently with a prior 45-year armed robbery sentence.¹⁷
Quantavious “Unfoonk” Grier, Young Thug’s brother, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and theft by receiving stolen property in December 2022, drawing 12 years commuted to time served and 10 years on probation. His probation was later revoked after police found a firearm in his vehicle, and he was ordered to serve the remaining nine and a half years.¹⁸

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defended the prosecution, citing 19 convictions and saying “the community is safer.” She told reporters that if the public was unhappy with the sentencing, “they should elect other judges,” and pointed to her reelection with 68 percent of the vote as a sign of support.¹⁹ The case was the longest trial in Georgia history.

Where Young Thug Stands Now

Williams faced a probation challenge within months of his release. In April 2025 the Fulton County DA’s office moved to revoke his probation after he reposted a social media image of a gang investigator with a caption calling her the “Biggest liar in the DA office.” Prosecutors argued the post threatened witness safety. Judge Whitaker denied the motion on April 3, 2025, ruling the posts did not violate his probation terms while advising Williams to “exercise restraint regarding certain topics.”²⁰

He released the album UY Scuti in September 2025, which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. In a 2025 podcast interview he said his feud with Lil Wayne had been resolved and that the two were planning a collaborative album.²¹

1
Vibe. Lil Wayne Testify Young Thug Beef YSL Trial
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Rolling Stone. Lil Wayne Tour Bus Shooter Receives Sentence
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Billboard. Lil Wayne Bus Shooting Conviction Tossed
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WSB-TV. YSL Trial: Man Who Shot Lil Wayne’s Tour Bus Strikes Plea Deal
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Conviction Reversed for Man Who Allegedly Shot Lil Wayne Tour Bus
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Billboard. Young Thug Drive-By Shooting Miami
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WSVN. Rapper’s Team Targeted in North Miami Party Bus Shooting
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The FADER. Young Thug Drive-By Shooting Miami
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Courthouse News Service. Young Slime Life Indictment
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution. YSL Trial: Who’s Who and What Are They Charged With
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Pitchfork. Young Thug Pleads Guilty in YSL Case
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Fox 5 Atlanta. Young Thug Pleads Guilty, Sentenced in YSL Trial
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CNN. Young Thug RICO Plea Deal
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Rolling Stone. Young Thug’s Plea Deal Probation Social Media
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The YSL Case Has Finally Ended
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Los Angeles Times. YSL RICO Trial Ends, Defendants Not Guilty
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Fox 5 Atlanta. YSL Defendant Christian Eppinger Jury Selection
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Fox 5 Atlanta. YSL RICO Case: Young Thug’s Brother Has Probation Revoked
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Capital B Atlanta. Fani Willis Defends Record on YSL Case
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Variety. Young Thug Probation Revoke Social Media
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New York Times. Young Thug Probation