Another Defendant Severed From YSL RICO Trial; Only 9 Remain As Jury Selection Continues

Another defendant has been removed from the YSL RICO case as the trial continues its slow crawl through jury selections.

On Monday, defendant Damone Blalock was severed from the trial after becoming sick just before his court hearing. Both Blalock and his attorney, Justin Hill, wanted to remain in the trial. Hill even offered to stand in for his client. However, the judge chose to sever him from the case, opting to separate his case from Thug’s entirely. Hill called the move “bittersweet,” as he was hoping to see the trial to completion.

“It was kind of a like family. I learned a lot. I enjoyed fighting for my client and fighting for the team as a whole,” Hill admitted after being on the case for five months pending jury selection. The attorney says he will focus his energy on running his law practice, which he confessed was struggling under the demands of the RICO trial. Blalock is already serving a life sentence for the 2019 slaying of 15-year-old Jamari Holmes, who was found shot to death inside a blue Dodge Charger in southwest Atlanta. Still, he is facing one charge of conspiracy to violate Georgia’s RICO along with his fellow YSL affiliates. Additionally, he is accused of stabbing another inmate in January at the Fulton County Jail.

The total number of defendants set to stand trial together now sits at just nine, with multiple having been severed from the case in recent weeks. Two defendants were removed from the case so their pregnant female lawyers could take maternity leaves. Jayden Myrick was severed after he was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial at the moment. Miles Farley’s case was severed last month after his attorney Anastasios Manettas was arrested for bringing prescription pills into the courtroom without their original container.

The trial has yet to officially get underway, with jury selection still expected to continue for several more weeks.