Fulton County prosecutors revealed they kept a potential juror under surveillance in the Young Thug RICO case. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the prosecution filed a motion asking Judge Ural Glanville to dismiss the juror after tracking the man’s movements for weeks.
Prosecutors claimed the man does not actually reside in Fulton County, Georgia. They said he lives at an apartment in Cobb County. During jury selection for Young Thug’s trial, the prospective juror acknowledged the apartment but insisted he usually stays at his mother’s home in Fulton County.
Surveillance allegedly determined the man spent 28 of the last 30 nights at his Cobb County apartment. License plate readers never saw him go anywhere near his mother’s home when he entered Fulton County.
Defense lawyers were reportedly shocked by the juror surveillance in Young Thug’s case.
“I think it is improper,” attorney Suri Chadha Jimenez told the AJC. “It’s not right to do this to citizens who are not criminals. They’re surveilling people who are doing their civic duty by showing up to jury service. He did nothing wrong.”
Prosecutors defended the surveillance. A Fulton County District Attorney spokesperson noted how a guilty verdict would be overturned if a person from outside Fulton County served on the jury.
“As is permitted by law, we review public records of jurors to ensure they are eligible to serve on a jury, particularly in major cases,” the spokesperson said. “Our review of this juror’s public information indicates that he lives in Cobb County, making it illegal for him to serve on a Fulton County jury. A further review confirmed he is ineligible. At no time did anyone from the DA’s office have contact with the juror.”
Young Thug, who remains in jail, is still waiting for a jury to be seated in his RICO case. Jury selection began in January.
