‘It’s what the doctor says’: One on one with Quindarrius Zachary’s attorney on his ability to testify

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Young Thug’s internationally watched criminal trial in Atlanta resumed Tuesday, one day after an attorney representing a key witness pleaded for his release from jail.

On Friday, Quindarrius Zachary – aka D, Dee and Lil’ D – was arrested and booked into the Fulton County Jail.

His attorney Dennis Schieb says Zachary was moved to Grady Memorial Hospital after concerns for his health at the jail and is currently being held in custody there.

Schieb spoke exclusively with Atlanta News First on Zachary’s ability to testify in the case.

“They want him to testify, and something that he supposedly said years ago, I don’t know if he even remembers it. I’ve talked to him. He’s been through so much,” said Schieb. “He’s been drained physically, he’s been drained mentally. They want him to testify. It’s not worth his life, you know, to get up there.”

He says Zachary has a severe sickle cell disease and has been in and out of the hospital undergoing blood transfusions.

Schieb says the state ordered a deputy to the hospital to speak with a doctor about his condition Tuesday.

He says his client needs to focus on his health.

“If he’s made to go back to jail, there’s a good chance he will die because they can’t deal with medical situations there like this,” Schieb said.

Zachary was taken into custody on a material witness warrant after being released from the hospital. It was a move by the state to ensure he showed up to testify.

“It’s not very common to use a material witness warrant,” said legal analyst Joshua Schiffer.

Schiffer explained those conditions.

“The applicant, in this case, the state can request the court arrest and detain the individual to ensure they appear in court. That doesn’t take in consideration anything outside of their appearance, including their medical condition, health, work, career, family obligation.”

Schieb says if a doctor clears it, his client will be required to take the stand.

“It’s whatever the doctor says, not what the investigator says, not what Ms. Love says, respectfully, not what the judge says. It’s what the doctors says.”

Zachary has been repeatedly mentioned throughout the trial of Jeffery Williams (Young Thug’s real name). According to recent testimony from Antonio Sledge (aka Mounk Tounk), Zachary is alleged to have been involved in a 2015 drive-by shooting along with Damekion Garlington against a suspected rival gang member.

Last week, Assistant Chief District Attorney Adrianne Love was redirecting questions at Sledge, who had been backtracking on statements he’d previously made to police and prosecutors about the alleged YSL (Young Slime Life or Young Stoner Life) gang, a group police have been trying to link to crimes around Atlanta for several years.

Love was questioning Sledge specifically about his previous statements to police about an April 28, 2015, drive-by shooting, when Sledge repeatedly began using a phrase already made famous by another witness, Kenneth Copeland (aka Lil’ Woody): “I don’t recall.”

Like Copeland, Sledge has a plea agreement after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate RICO and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Derrick Wright, who has represented Sledge for 15 years, was also questioned last week about a recorded Zoom call he had with prosecutors and Sledge.

Rich Homie Quan - real name Dequantes Devontay Lamar - had been listed as a possible witness in Young Thug’s historically long criminal proceeding, in which he’s facing eight criminal counts under a federal law originally enacted to fight organized crime, but Lamar died on Sept. 5.

In September 2014, his father, Corey Lamar, was injured when his barbershop was targeted in a shooting. Fulton County prosecutors have been trying to link the incident to an alleged criminal gang led by Young Thug.

Several weeks ago, Copeland admitted he and a friend opened fire into the barbershop.

Here's everything that's happened so far in Young Thug's trial

Copeland was once considered the prosecution’s star witness, a would-be rapper who police and prosecutors were using in attempts to link Young Thug to a gang they allege have been responsible for a series of crimes, including the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas.

Young Thug marked his 33rd birthday on Aug. 16, 2024, after being arrested on May 9, 2022, along with 27 other suspected gang members in Buckhead as part of a 56-count indictment.

The trial’s jury selection lasted longer than any other in Georgia history, and actual witness testimony itself will likely surpass state records. Both records were set by the Atlanta Public Schools teacher scandal and trial of 2014-15.

The trial itself began on Nov. 27, 2023. Defense attorneys have repeatedly raised concerns about the trial’s length, and Fulton County prosecutors still have more than 100 witnesses to call.

Prosecutors are attempting to show YSL is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous offenses. Defense attorneys say YSL is not a gang but simply the name of a record label.

Williams is also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of codeine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun.

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