Yak Gotti, aka Deamonte Kendrick, has remained jailed since May 2022 as one of the 28 people nabbed in the widely publicized YSL RICO case. That 56-count accusation had engaged the hip-hop world after prosecutors contended that Young Slime Life, long proven as a record label and collective, was functioning as a criminal street gang.
Though acquitted in December 2024 of the racketeering and murder charges, the kind of heavy-hitting accusations that many in his position would never have hoped to wiggle out of, Gotti still could not capture his freedom. Separate charges, unrelated to the original indictment, kept him behind bars. That stemmed from a violent episode inside the jail last June when prosecutors said Yak Gotti and several people charged with him stormed a cell of another inmate and beat him with an electrical cord.
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Yak Gotti appeared back in Fulton County Court, where he took a key step when he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the rest: the riot and assault charges were wiped off the table. The deal was as strategic as it was surprising, and Judge Paige Reese Whitaker seemed to approve of the terms.
The judge imposed a sentence of 12 years, although he credited Gotti for the time he had already served. Thus, the rapper could walk out on probation free to resume his life and, possibly, his music.
It wasn’t a legal victory but a rare second chance. In the courtroom, some even described Judge Whitaker’s final words as a “blessing,” presenting Gotti with a way forward rather than an extended punishment.
With several of his fellow YSL members still embroiled in the legal thicket of the case against them, Gotti’s release is notable as a potential turning point. It’s a moment hinting at redemption, perhaps even a comeback not just for him but symbolic of others entangled in the system.
The news reverberated on social media like a spark among fans. Many are optimistic that Gotti, a rambling realist with a history as a friend of Atlanta’s trap scene, will deliver a more focused album with deeper stories to tell. Only time will tell what this next chapter entails.
But for now, Yak Gotti is finally home. With a clean slate and blessings from the bench, he’s getting an unprecedented chance to rewrite his narrative, this time on his terms.
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