Gunna has been released from prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The rapper, real name Sergio Kitchens, had been incarcerated since he was included among 28 people charged in a sweeping RICO indictment in May – alongside Young Thug – that targeted the YSL record label, which authorities allege is a criminal gang.
As Atlanta’s WSB-TV reports, Gunna took a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to the charge while maintaining his innocence on it. He was sentenced to five years in prison with one year served. The one-year sentence was commuted to time served with the remaining sentence suspended. He will instead serve 500 hours of community service.
Gunna Has Been Released From Fulton County Jail
WATCH: Atlanta rapper #Gunna released from Fulton County Jail hours after pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
MORE DETAILS >>> https://t.co/Ap9ALLy5xZ pic.twitter.com/1p3IQNJcSB— Mikaela Thomas (@MikaelaThomasTV) December 14, 2022
In a statement shared by his lawyer, Steve Sadow, Gunna said that when he became associated with YSL in 2016, he did not consider it a “gang”, and that it instead was “a group of people from metro Atlanta who had common interests and artistic inspirations.” He said his focus with the label was “entertainment – rap artists who wrote and performed music that exaggerated and ‘glorified’ urban life in the Black community.”
Gunna made it clear that he had not made any statements, been interviewed, cooperated or agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any of the other 27 people included in the case. “[I] have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way,” he said.
“I have chosen to end my own RICO case with an Alford plea and end my personal ordeal by publicly acknowledging my association with YSL. An Alford plea in my case is the entry of a guilty plea to the one charge against me, which is in my best interest, while at the same time maintaining my innocence toward the same charge,” the rapper continued. Gunna had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence after being charged back in May.
“I love and cherish my association with YSL music, and always will. I look at this as an opportunity to give back to my community and educate young men and women that ‘gangs’ and violence only lead to destruction.”
Despite Gunna’s release, his collaborator and YSL founder Young Thug remains incarcerated as he continues to await trial. Thug, who has also maintained his innocence, was one of the 28 indicted for alleged conspiracy to violate the RICO act back in May. Following a search of his home, he was charged with seven additional felonies relating to weapons and illegal substances. Jury selection in Thug’s case is scheduled to begin early next year.
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