ATLANTA — Atlanta rapper Gunna has been denied bail for a second time and will remain in jail on racketeering charges.
The 29-year-old rapper, whose real name is Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, appeared in court virtually on Thursday, WSB-TV reported. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville had previously denied bail for Kitchens.
Kitchens is charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. He is accused of theft by receiving stolen property, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and participation in criminal street gang activity, according to the television station.
Back in May, a judge said it wasn't his decision to make. Now, another judge has made his decision. https://t.co/n1DYUYjdtD
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 7, 2022
Kitchens was charged under the RICO Act with fellow rapper Young Thug and more than two dozen other people, according to The Associated Press.
Glanville held Thursday’s hearing to reconsider Kitchens’ request. The judge previously said he was worried that Kitchens might threaten or intimidate witnesses if he were released ahead of trial.
Kitchens was first denied bail in May, when prosecutors argued he was in a “command position” in the alleged Young Slime Life gang, Rolling Stone reported.
Kitchens has maintained his innocence, WSB reported. In a typed letter released on his social media accounts, the rapper said he is still writing and praying daily. He described his living conditions as consisting of just a bed and a shower with no windows.
Kitchens’ lawyers said they were “disappointed” with the judge’s decision.
“Sergio Kitchens a k a Gunna and the defense team are very disappointed in the denial of bond,” the rapper’s lawyers, Don Samuel and Steve Shadow, told Rolling Stone. “Gunna produced substantial evidence that bond was warranted for him. The prosecution again produced no evidence at all; instead, it chose to rely on vague and non-specific allegations and speculation through the statements of the prosecutor alone. Gunna deserves better from our justice system.”
Twenty-eight people, including Kitchens, were named in the 56-count indictment in Fulton County.
The indictment alleged that Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, and other YSL members “conspired to associate together and with others for the common purposes of illegally obtaining money and property through a pattern of racketeering activity, and conducting and participating in the enterprise through a pattern of racketeering.” According to the document, one of the group’s objectives was “preserving, protecting and enhancing the power and territory of the enterprise through acts of racketeering activity including murder, assault and threats of violence,” WSB reported.
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