The state of Georgia is about to have a pretty expensive 5 p.m. rush hour! In a move that feels like a scene straight out of a legal thriller, a Fulton County judge has officially ordered the state to return a massive haul of seized assets to rapper Young Thug. And the judge gave the state of Georgia a very specific and very strict deadline to run Jeffery Williams back everything they’ve been holding hostage.
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On Wednesday, Fulton County Judge Paige Reese Whitaker dismissed the state’s appeal in a civil forfeiture case tied to the YSL RICO investigation, local news station Fox 5 reported. Simply put: the state of Georgia lost its last chance to keep Thug’s property because they failed to follow the rules of the court.
Judge Whitaker ruled that prosecutors caused an unreasonable and inexcusable delay by failing to order a required transcript for their appeal and repeatedly requested deadline extensions for transcripts they later admitted was never asked for, court records showed.
So, because the delay exceeded three months, the district attorney’s office misled the court and prejudiced Thug by continuing to deprive him of his property per Judge Whitaker, the state must return roughly $150,000 in cash and high-end jewelry back to Thug Friday…by 5:00 p.m. sharp!
The state must also return multiple luxury vehicles that were seized, including a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2022 Porsche 911, three Mercedes-Benzes, a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 2018 Lamborghini and a Can-Am Spyder, per CBS News.
Other confiscated property included a Glock 19X firearm, Glock 45 9mm-caliber firearm, FN Five Seven firearm, Smith & Wesson M&P .40-Caliber firearm, Glock .357-caliber firearm and a Glock 30s .45-caliber firearm, WSB-TV 2 reported.
“The Court finds that the plain language of statute requires that Claimants’ property be returned promptly, free of liens and encumbrances,” Whitaker’s ruling reads. “The State has not identified any authority that would allow it to retain custody of the property where the forfeiture complaint has been dismissed and now the State’s appeal of that dismissal has been dismissed.” Whew.
But this 5:oo p.m. showdown isn’t just about the Lamborghinis and the diamonds, but a final exclamation point to the longest criminal trial in Georgia history. To understand why Judge Whitaker forced the state to return Thug’s property with such urgency, you have to look back at the years of chaos in that record-breaking YSL trial.
Thug’s Atlanta home was raided before he was arrested in May 2022 and subsequently charged with conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, participation in criminal street gang activity and multiple drug and weapons offenses.
The “Best Friend” rapper sat in the Fulton County Jail for 906 days while jury selection took a staggering 10 months before the trial finally started in November 2023. Thug pleaded guilty to one gang charge, three drug charges and two gun charges in October 2024, in addition to a no-contest plea, BBC reported at the time, in a trial that spanned roughly two years.
He received credit for time served plus 15 years of probation (and other requirements) and was released from jail the next day. Now, he’s engaged to singer Mariah the Scientist and should soon be the proud…re-owner, of his property.
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