Jim Jones Weighs in on YSL RICO Case: ‘Taking a Plea Is Really Not the Thing You’re Supposed to Do’

In an interview with DJ Univercity, Jim Jones offered up his thoughts on Gunna and others taking plea deals in the sweeping YSL RICO case. Some of the other people that haven taken plea deals in the case include Lil Duke, Young Thug’s brother Quantavious “Unfoonk” Grier, Antonio “Obama” Sumlin, and Antonio Sledge a.k.a. Mounk Tounk.

“It’s definitely a touchy that [Young] Thug is facing, I don’t know the ins and outs … All I can see is what I see,” he told Univercity in the interview, as seen above at around the 2:00 mark. “From where I come from, taking a plea when you have co-defendants is really not the thing you supposed to do. If you up against a case by yourself, and shit like that, that’s something different. But when you’re taking a plea it’s a touchy thing.”

While he didn’t want to get too deep into the subject, he said that he’s seen friends of his “go through some of the same things” without ever taking a plea deal. “I can say this: None of my n****s took a plea,” he said. “They all in jail right now doing the time. They accepted what they did, they accepted who snitched on them, they accepted it all, and they all sat down and did their time. … Nobody tried to take a plea, nobody tried to go around. N****s even went to trial—they did everything they could but do that.”

Jones, who has been a notable critic of plea deals in the past, offered up some praise for Young Thug, who hasn’t taken a plea deal in the case. “God bless Young Thug because he’s definitely a dope soul,” he continued. “He’s a Black man that started from nothing and helped so many Black people become successful. … I tip my hat to Thug, man. I’ve seen some crazy things, you never know, that man could come home and that’s what I be praying for.”

Thug is facing eight charges in the RICO case, which encompasses 65 counts overall. Fulton County prosecutors have alleged that YSL, otherwise known as Young Slime Life or Young Stoner Life Records, is a street gang. Gunna acknowledged that he became associated with YSL in 2016 when he took his plea deal, and he confirmed he had “personal knowledge” that members or associates of YSL have “committed crimes in furtherance of the gang.”