A defense attorney for the YSL RICO trial in Fulton County, Georgia was arrested shortly after showing up in court on Thursday.
According to Atlanta crime reporter George Chidi, lawyer Anastassios Manettas was taken into custody for having prescription drugs in his bag. The drugs, which were prescribed to him, were discovered during a random search in the courthouse.
Anastassios Manettas, an attorney on the YSL trial, was just arrested for having his prescription drugs in his bag at a search at court.
— George Chidi (find me on Mastodon) (@neonflag) April 20, 2023
Manettas was also arrested for assault after he tossed his cellphone to another lawyer so it wouldn’t be searched. The phone hit a deputy, resulting in the assault charge.
Chidi tweeted:
“When he tried to toss his phone to another attorney so they wouldn’t be able to search it, he missed and hit a deputy, so they’re also charging him with assaulting an officer.”
When he tried to toss his phone to another attorney so they wouldn't be able to search it, he missed and hit a deputy, so they're also charging him with assaulting an officer.
— George Chidi (find me on Mastodon) (@neonflag) April 20, 2023
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office charged Manettas with simple battery on law enforcement officer, possession (pills not in original container), obstruction and disruption of court proceedings.
His arrest comes less than 24 hours after a courtroom was evacuated when one of the YSL defendants was removed from a holding cell after he began screaming.
The defendant was later identified as Rodalius Ryan, aka Lil Rod, according to Atlanta News First.
The high-profile trial has been disrupted multiple times over the past 4 months — and the jury hasn’t even been chosen yet.
In December, a sexually explicit video was accidentally played during a Zoom hearing.
That same month, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ordered a juror to write a 30-page essay for missing jury duty.
This week, the judge threatened an attorney with 20 days in jail if he didn’t write a 17-page essay about the importance of professionalism.
Last week, two court-appointed defense attorneys representing 14 YSL defendants complained about the long hours and low pay. One public defender threatened to quit.
Attorneys Justin Hill and Suri Chadha Jimenez were appointed by the Georgia Public Defender Council (GPDC) to represent Young Thug’s co-defendants in his trial.
In a live-stream on Thursday afternoon, Hill and Jimenez expressed concerns about the lengthy jury selection process that has already lasted longer than any other jury selection process in Georgia history.
Then on Monday, attorney Hill used the slang term “cap” [meaning not true] while presenting a motion for Judge Glanville to remove certain evidence in the YSL RICO case.
“So, I will start by saying that this assertion that I did not pre-argument,” Hill said before Glanville cut him off. “Don’t worry about that, okay? Because I’d have to do it anyway. So, don’t even worry about that.”
“I was saying that it is not true. It’s cap, to be honest,” Hill said. The video of their verbal exchange went viral on Twitter this week.
The lawyer during the YSL trial said, "cap". ??pic.twitter.com/L4q2nNreqe
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) April 17, 2023
Not a single juror has been picked of the hundreds of jurors summoned so far in the case. 300 more potential jurors will be called on April 28 and another 300 potential jurors will be summoned on May 19.
Legal experts say the RICO trial is a very complicated case that is expected to last more than a year.
Watch the video below.
