ATLANTA — Prosecutors questioned a man considered one of possibly five founding members of Young Slime Life (YSL) in court Wednesday. Prosecutors have accused YSL of being a street gang.
Walter "DK" Murphy took the witness stand as a part of his plea agreement. He was questioned over prior gang affiliations, how YSL was founded and how he became affiliated with rapper Young Thug, whose legal name is Jeffrey Williams.
The RICO trial involving Young Thug and the alleged YSL street gang started in 2023 and its already considered the longest in Georgia's history.
Murphy considered Young Thug a friend around the time YSL was formed back in 2012. According to his testimony, he knew Williams as "Lil Jeff." He said after he went to prison, Murphy did not maintain the relationship.
Prosecutors then questioned Murphy about several different groups he was affiliated with before YSL was created, including the widely known Bloods gang.
Murphy said he did not commit any crimes or do anything to gain affiliation with the group. He said his affiliation was a part of him being "young and dumb."
"I did a lot of stuff without meaning or purpose," the alleged co-founder said.
Prosecutors also used a series of tweets to help further their case about Murphy being affiliated with some of the street gangs, but he mostly answered that he did not recall tweeting any references to the gang despite it being through his personal Twitter (now known as the X platform) account.
Murphy was also questioned if he understood his plea agreement, which stated he identified some terms used by YSL members. He told prosecutors that there were some parts of his agreement that he did not completely understand.
After going over the documents, the prosecution began to ask the witness about his time co-founding YSL, where he identified himself, Williams, Trontavious Stephens and two other people as founders.
Prosecutors questioned if YSL was more than a group, to which he answered, "Not to my knowledge." Attorneys then asked Murphy to go over his plea agreement that alleges YSL evolved into a gang, where he initialed. He then changed his answer.
He then told prosecutors when asked that prospective members did not need to commit a crime or do anything to become a member of YSL.
"If you want to be YSL, you can be YSL," he said on Wednesday.
Before the prosecution could ask another question about an interview with Atlanta Police in 2015, the defense interrupted the court with discovery for a motion to enter new evidence. The evidence was considered to be tapes of the alleged police interview.
Judge Ural Glanville went into an explosive outburst after the evidence was discovered. He told the defense he believed this evidence could have been admissible in late 2022 or early 2023 since the defense allegedly sat on the evidence. He then excused the jury for the day and told the attorneys they would possibly have to return on Saturday after resolving the motion.
More on the Young Thug, YSL trial
Back on May 9, 2022, the hip-hop world was jolted with the news that rapper Young Thug - a Grammy winner, trendsetter and Atlanta icon - had been arrested.
It's been nearly two years now that the artist, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams, has remained behind bars. The central charge against him is that three letters with which his name has become synonymous because of his artistic success in launching the "Young Stoner Life" label, YSL, actually signalize a violent gang: Young Slime Life.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis named Williams, among other metro Atlanta rappers and those with ties to the alleged gang, to bring charges against a total of 28 people in a sweeping 88-page indictment. The case alleges that not only is Young Thug among the gang's members, but he is also its kingpin.
"He is the one they're all afraid of," a prosecutor said at a June 2022 hearing. "He's the one that's King Slime."
A long pretrial process passed to an even longer jury selection process, and across this time, the co-defendant list dwindled with plea deals and other circumstances, keeping some of the individuals charged from remaining on the case.
The trial finally began in earnest in November 2023, already considered the longest in Georgia's history.
Now that it is in full swing, 11Alive is keeping track of key developments in the case and highlighting moments in the courtroom. Follow along in the timeline below.