US rapper Gunna arrives for the 2022 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2022, in New York. - The Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. The Gala's 2022 theme is "In America: An Anthology of Fashion". (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Gunna is home. After four failed bond requests, a guilty plea ultimately got him out of Fulton County Jail on December 14. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Act (RICO Act).
As a result of the guilty plea, the 29-year-old received a five-year sentence with one year of prison time. However, the plea allowed that one year to be commuted to time served while the remaining four years were suspended. Additionally, Gunna is required to complete 500 hours of community service.
WSB-TV Channel 2‘s Mark Winne, the only TV journalist in the courtroom during Gunna’s plea, reported that the artist entered a negotiated plea known as an Alford plea. This type of plea allows a defendant to “acknowledge that it is in [their] best interest to plead guilty,” per WSB-TV, but doesn’t require the defendant to admit they committed the charged crime.
Police took Gunna into custody in May, along with Young Thug and 26 other YSL associates, following a 56-count RICO indictment. The court denied his first request for bond on May 23, the second on July 7, and the third on October 13. His legal team, including co-lead counsel Steven Sadow, filed a fourth motion on October 17.
Footage from WSB-TV Channel 2 showed when Gunna agreed to YSL-related questions from the prosecution in court.
Gunna agreed that he “became affiliated with YSL around 2016.”
He agreed that “YSL is a music label and a gang, and [he] has personal knowledge that members or associates of YSL have committed crimes in furtherance of the gang.”
The rapper agreed that he and Young Thug were “present” when police stopped a vehicle that contained “hydrocodone, methenamine, and a firearm.”He agreed that the items police recovered did not belong to him.
Gunna also agreed that the following statement was his:
“I recognize, accept, and deeply regret that my talent and music indirectly furthered YSL the gang to the detriment of my community. YSL as a gang must end,” as read by the prosecutor.
Following the events in court and his release, Gunna issued a statement. Questions had already begun swirling about what some call the ‘light consequences’ of the plea deal. In the statement, the rapper maintained that he didn’t cooperate or agree to testify in any upcoming trial processes.
He said his impression of YSL in 2016 was that it was “more like a group of people from metro Atlanta who had common interests and artistic aspirations.” He also emphasized that his focus within YSL was “entertainment.”
“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,” Gunna said.
Read the complete statement below:
