Atlanta rap star Young Thug agreed to change his plea Thursday to guilty in Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial, a stunning twist that, if approved by the judge, would bring his high-profile case to a close.

The plea change for the rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, appeared on the verge of falling through after Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker asked if he would agree to a non-negotiated plea. This means that prosecutors and defense were unable to reach a sentencing agreement, and the judge will still ultimately decide his sentence.

After a short break the games returned. The agreement comes after three of Young Thug’s co-defendants reached plea deals this week following mounting speculation that Whitaker could order a mistrial.

Young Thug, 33, was indicted in 2022 for leading an alleged street gang, Young Slime Life, or YSL, whose members were accused of committing illegal and violent acts, including murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking and carjacking.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis used Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute to allege that Young Thug and his associates are a street gang with ties to the national Bloods gang.

Prosecutors initially named 27 co-defendants. Young Thug’s trial began with jury selection in January 2023, and by the time opening statements began in November, after months of delays caused by some defendants taking plea deals and others choosing to be tried separately, he was one of six co-suspects. .

Whitaker this week approved plea deals for three of them: Quamarvious Nichols, 29; Marquavius ​​Huey, 28; and Rodalius Ryan, 18.

The men faced multiple racketeering and gang-related charges, each carrying possible prison sentences of five to 20 years. Because they all agreed to plead guilty to a racketeering conspiracy — with Huey also pleading guilty to other reduced charges — they accepted more lenient prison sentences with probation and time served. However, Ryan will remain in prison with a life sentence for a 2019 murder, but his 10-year sentence in the RICO case has been commuted to time served.

It was not immediately clear whether the other two remaining co-defendants, Deamonte Kendrick and Shannon Stillwell, have ongoing negotiations with prosecutors on similar plea deals or whether they will continue with the trial.

Still, given Young Thug’s apparent plea deal, his part in the prosecution’s sprawling case is coming to an end after nearly two years of a winding, live-streamed trial that has captivated court observers. The original judge was removed from the trial in July after allegations of defense misconduct, heated courtroom exchanges between several parties and a host of bizarre moments, including a deputy allegedly smuggling contraband to a defendant and someone using the Zoom of the court hacked to shout, “Free.” Criminal!” interrupted the slow proceedings.

The judge had previously said the trial could extend into next year as the prosecutor still had not finished presenting his case.

But the latest and most substantial twist came as a result of a prosecutorial misstep during testimony last week.

When state witness Wunnie Lee, a rapper known as Slimelife Shawty, reviewed social media posts for the jury, he was accidentally shown an unredacted version of a post that referenced the hashtag #freequa, which could apply to nicknames for Nichols or Huey . The message has been edited for the jury.

But by referring Lee to Qua, prosecutors led the jury to assume the co-defendants were in jail, a detail that cannot be shared because it is considered prejudicial.

“We’re not going to be able to unlock this bell, your honor,” said Nicole Westmoreland, an attorney for Nichols, in asking for a mistrial.

Whitaker had suggested she would consider a mistrial. Meanwhile, prosecutors and defense attorneys spent days working out plea deals.

Young Thug first found mainstream success with his 2014 drug anthem “Stoner.” He founded his own music label, YSL Records, in 2016 and has achieved three No. 1 albums on the Billboard chart, collaborating with the likes of Travis Scott , Post Malone, Meek Mill and Drake. In 2019, he won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for co-writing Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.”

He has been imprisoned since his arrest in May 2022.

This is a breaking news story. Check back later for updates.