WATCH: Atlanta rapper Gunna released from jail after pleading guilty

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Atlanta rapper Gunna pleaded guilty in the criminal case against Young Thug and other alleged members of an Atlanta gang, ending his involvement in the case and securing his release from jail.

Gunna and Young Thug were arrested in May after their names appeared on an indictment charging them and 26 other people with gang-related criminal activity.

The nearly 100-page indictment accuses Gunna was connected to the local gang named Young Slime Life, known as YSL.

In a statement released by his lawyers, Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens stated that he had taken a so-called Alford plea, also known as a “best interests plea” which is a type of agreement that allows a defendant to enter a formal admission of guilt while still maintaining their innocence.

When I became affiliated with YSL in 2016, I did not consider it a “gang”; more like a group of people from metro Atlanta who had common interests and artistic aspirations.

My focus of YSL was entertainment -rap artists who wrote and performed music that exaggerated and “glorified” urban life in the Black community.

While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way.

I have chosen to end my own RICO case with an Alford plea and end my personal ordeal by publicly acknowledging my association with YSL.

An Alford plea in my case is the entry of a guilty plea to the one charge against me, which is in my best interest, while at the same time maintaining my innocence toward the same charge. I love and cherish my association with YSL music, and always will. I look at this as an opportunity to give back to my community and educate young men and women that “gangs” and violence only lead to destruction.

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