Gunna Released From Jail Amid RICO Case

Atlanta rapper Gunna, one of 28 charged for alleged activity in a street gang activity, has been released from prison after entering a plea deal. The rapper is part of Young Thug’s YSL record label. Gunna has been in jail since May of this year when arrests were made and the RICO case was announced by the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. His leal team have sought bail in his case from the start. They have argued that his connection to the case was practically nonexistent, and he’s maintained his innocence until today, even releasing a statement.

The indictment sparked the charges against the rapper and 27 others, including Young Thug. The case attracted much attention due to prosecutors using rap lyrics and social media posts as evidence the defendants are part of a gang. Even Kim Kardashian tweeted this fall that “there is no evidence tying him to a single crime, or showing that he is a risk to the community” after he was denied bail again.

Gunna, real name Sergio Kitchens, said in his first official statement that he “chosen to end my own RICO case with an Alford plea and end my personal ordeal by publicly acknowledging my association with YSL.”

11 Alive Atlanta reports that an Alford plea is one in which a defendant “registers a formal admission of guilt towards charges in criminal court while the defendant simultaneously expresses their innocence toward those same charges.” It’s related to pleasing innocent but accepting a guilty outcome to avoid lengthier sentences. 

In a sense, it is like pleading innocent but effectively accepting a guilty outcome.

“An Alford plea in my case is the entry of a guilty plea to the one charge against me, which is in my best interest, while at the same time maintaining my innocence toward the same charge,” Gunna added in his statement. His full statement has been posted to his social media account.