The YSL RICO trial resumed on Monday, August 12, after a two-month break, with a new judge, Page Reese Whitaker, presiding, and key witness Kenneth ‘Lil Woody’ Copeland taking the stand, despite earlier reservations about testifying based on his mood.
During the trial, Lil Woody displayed hostility when prosecutors challenged his claims about Young Thug’s 2015 crimes, which he had previously shared with police.
When asked to address his previous claim he said “I don’t recall none of that,I just know every time police was after me and trying to get me, they kept bringing Young Thug’s name up and I knew they had me with what I had. So, I was like ‘Yea, yea, yea, yea. Whatever y’all want me to say I will say it.’”
At some point he became agitated,he continued “That’s why they kept coming after me because they felt like they could make a case out of him or whatever they are trying to do,So they knew that, ‘OK, we gon’ get Woody today, he gon’ have something to say about Thug.’ It’s wrong. And y’all wrong because y’all know that I’m full of sh*t. And y’all keep trying to drag me in here to bring up bullish*t that y’all know I done said. Why is y’all doing that. Leave me alone.”
Judge Whitaker deemed Kenneth ‘Lil Woody’ Copeland a hostile witness and subsequently instructed the jury to dismiss his earlier testimony, citing concerns that he lacked proper legal counsel.
