CNN —
Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug and a racketeering co-defendant engaged in a hand-to-hand drug transaction during a court hearing, prosecutors said in a filing filed in Atlanta.
Fulton County prosecutors say the alleged exchange was caught on surveillance video in the courtroom on Wednesday.
The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, and Kahlieff Adams are facing charges including conspiracy to violate the Racketeers-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and participation in criminal activity by street gangs.
According to the request for clarification of protocol, Adams “got up from his chair (…) and walked unattended” to Young Thug and gave him Percocet.
The motion said Young Thug tried to hide his hand under the table. The sheriff’s deputies took the painkiller and searched Adams, who resisted. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after “apparently taking other contraband he was carrying to hide the extent of his crimes in the courtroom.”
During the search of Adams, deputies found percocet, marijuana, tobacco and other contraband “wrapped in plastic and food spices to mask the smell of the marijuana,” the motion said.
Percocet is the brand name of a drug that mixes oxycodone, an opioid, and acetaminophen, the generic name for drugs like Tylenol.
Keith Adams, one of Young Thug’s attorneys, told CNN on Friday, “The state is intentionally misrepresenting and embellishing Wednesday’s events.”
He said Young Thug neither requested nor accepted the pill.
“As can be seen in the courtroom video footage, Mr. Williams IMMEDIATELY gave it to the courtroom deputy standing directly in front of him,” he wrote in a message.
Adams said an investigation cleared Young Thug of any wrongdoing and charged the party responsible. He said the prosecution’s allegations were “a blatant fabrication and disappointing”.
Teombre Calland, an attorney representing Kahlieff Adams, released a statement via text message to CNN affiliate WSB-TV, which said: “On behalf of Mr Adams, these allegations are just that: mere statements by the state, at length to thwart the jury selection process.”
CNN has reached out to Brian Steel, another attorney for Young Thug, and Calland.
Young Thug won a 2019 Grammy Award for his work with Childish Gambino and Ludwig Göransson on the hit song This is America.
The rapper was initially charged in May with conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and participating in street gang criminal activities.
A re-indictment filed Aug. 5 in Fulton County Superior Court charges him with nine new charges, including participation in street gang criminal activity and violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act.
He was also indicted on other charges of possession of a firearm while committing a felony and possession of a machine gun.
The selection of the jury is ongoing.