After turning himself in to authorities, Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, a.k.a. superstar rapper Gunna, was booked into the Fulton County jail in Georgia Wednesday (5.11) days after the “Drip Too Hard” hitmaker’s was named in a massive RICO indictment that also led to the arrest of fellow Atlanta rapper Young Thug.
In a statement to TMZ, the Kitchens legal team said Kitchens was “innocent,” saying the “indictment falsely portrays his music as part of a criminal conspiracy.”
Along with Young Thug (born Jeffrey Williams,) Gunna was one of 28 members of the alleged Young Slime Life “criminal street gang” named in Monday’s 56-count indictment. The rapper is accused of conspiring to violate the RICO Act. Meanwhile Williams is facing seven new felony charges in addition to the RICO indictment and was denied bond during Wednesday’s court hearing according to Atlanta’s WXIA-TV.
According to the indictment Kitchens is accused of possessing a stolen firearm, and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, hydrocodone, and marijuana. Gunna and Young Thug were also involved in a traffic stop that included a second car that allegedly contained “numerous weapons with high capacity magazines,” which the indictment calls, “an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
As with Williams, prosecutors appear ready to use Kitchens’ music and social media posts against him. For example, the indictment cites the music video for Gunna’s 2020 song “Fox 5” and claims that Kitchens wearing a “YSL” and “Slatt” pendant, and using the lyrics “We got ten-hundred round choppers,” also constitutes “an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.” Kitchens was also hit in the indictment for appearing alongside Williams on the songs “Ski” and “Take It to Trial.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Frank Schwichtenberg