Gunna has pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge and will be released from jail as a part of the deal.
The rapper was a part of a massive gang indictment that he and Young Thug were named in, along with many others allegedly associated with the Young Slime Life criminal street gang, WSB-TV reports.
Gunna, who’s legal name is Sergio Kitchens, appeared in front of a judge on Wednesday. Prior to his appearance in court, the rapper and his legal team negotiated a plea. Known as the Alford plea, the agreement asked Kitchens to plead guilty to one charge — one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Act — and, in exchange, he could claim innocence on the same charge.
Kitchens was sentenced to five years in prison with a one-year sentence counted as time served. The remaining four years has been suspended, and will be reevaluated after the rapper completes 500 hours of community service.
“While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way,” the 29-year-old said in a statement, according to WSB-TV.
Regardless of how Kitchens feels about participating in the trial process, he may not have it his way. Part of his case and plea deal are that he must take the stand if called. However, he may be able to avoid that by calling on the Fifth Amendment.
Kitchens also added in his statement that when he joined YSL in 2016, he didn’t think of it as a gang, but rather “a group of people from metro Atlanta who had common interests and artistic aspirations.”
“My focus of YSL was entertainment — rap artists who wrote and performed music that exaggerated and ‘glorified’ urban life in the Black community,” he continued.
The Atlanta native added that he appreciates his connection to YSL music, and that will never change.
Young Thug is still in jail awaiting trial.