Man standing trial alongside rapper Young Thug accepts plea deal

ATLANTA — One of the co-defendants standing trial alongside the rapper Young Thug accepted a plea deal with prosecutors Tuesday.

Quamarvious Nichols, 29, pleaded guilty in Fulton County Superior Court to a single violation of Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop murder and weapons charges against him. Nichols was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The plea leaves the fate of Young Thug and four others still undecided in what has become Georgia's longest criminal trial. Jury selection at the courthouse in Atlanta began in January 2023 and took nearly 10 months. The trial began with opening statements last November, and prosecutors since then have called dozens of witnesses.

Young Thug, a Grammy winner whose given name is Jeffery Williams, was charged two years ago in a sprawling indictment accusing him and more than two dozen other people of conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. He also is charged with gang, drug and gun crimes.

Nine people charged in the indictment accepted plea deals before the trial began. Twelve others are being tried separately. Prosecutors dropped charges against one defendant after he was convicted of murder in an unrelated case.