Young Thug Associate Lil Woody Testifies He Was ‘Making Up Stories’ in Police Interviews

Kenneth 'Lil Woody' Copeland has quickly become the star witness in Young Thug's ongoing RICO trial, and during a recent court appearance, he admitted he fabricated stories during police interviews.

In court on Thursday, June 13, Copeland became increasingly frustrated by the prosecution's questions about past interviews he gave to authorities, including ones about the murder of Donovan "Big Nutt" Thomas in 2015. He was asked if he remembered what was said in several of these interviews, to which he said "yes" but struggled to recall what was said when asked for further details. "I don't remember what I done told the police," he said at one point, as seen at the 1:40 point of the Law&Crime Trials video seen above.

"Let me ask you this: Are you just saying 'yes' now to speed up your questioning?'" the prosecution asked him. "Most definitely," he replied. "I keep telling you I don't remember, you keep asking me questions so I'm just saying, 'Yes.'"

Copeland became further agitated by the questions and insisted he could not recall what he told police. "You keep sitting right here asking me the same questions over and over and over and over and over, I'm tired of it, I'm drained," he said. "I can't be lying because I told you upfront that I don't recall." He switched from answering "yes" to all the questions to answering, "I don't recall."

"When they was questioning me, whatever I said, I don't recall what I said," he continued. "When they ask me questions, whatever I thought I wanted to say, that's what I said. ... I can't say from when to when, but so much was going on. My name was on everything the police kept coming to grab me. Every time they grab me I had a different story for them. I know 100 percent facts and I'm telling you know, I was not truthful. I was saying whatever they wanted me to say. I was saying whatever I could come up with. I was trying my best to convince them that I didn't do nothing, that I'm an innocent person, and that people put their hands on me."

He said that he knows he "wasn't being truthful" in many of these interactions with authorities, but he doesn't recall exactly what he said. "When they was questioning me, 2015-14, whenever they was questioning me, I was lying," he said. "I was making up stories. So when they were asking me about this right here, I was making it up. ... Every time they got me, I have told them police, 'I'll tell y'all whatever y'all want to hear, just let me go.'"

Prosecutors have alleged that Young was responsible for renting the car used in the fatal shooting of Donovan Thomas in 2015. Two other defendants in the case, Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick, have been charged in connection to the shooting.

During the court session on Thursday, one of the attorneys on Young Thug's legal team, Brian Steel, expressed concern with how the prosecution has handled its questioning of Copeland. Per Fox 5 Atlanta, Steel suggested that it was inappropriate that Copeland had been seen with prosecutors and law enforcement during breaks from the courtroom.

"Every time Mr. Copeland comes in the courtroom or out of court, he's escorted by a DA's office investigator," said Steel. "You see exactly what's going on. You hear the prosecutor tell you, we were in a room with Mr. Copeland, and he said to you, why? Why do I have to bring it up? You should be bringing it up. This is crazy. This is like communist Russia. Mr. Williams is having the worst trial. So I'm moving again to stop intimidating the witness by the prosecution, leave people alone and stop accusing."

Copeland refused to testify last week and was held in contempt of court. Since he changed his mind, and has been granted an order granting him immunity from his testimony being used against him, he has only provided evasive answers since he took the stand.

Earlier this week, he fired his attorney in court. "Mr. Copeland, is it your desire to release your counsel at this point in time?" Judge Ural Glanville asked him on Tuesday, June 11. "She's fired," he said. "Why do I need a lawyer?"

The latest developments from Copeland come after a particularly messy week for the trial, which saw the arrest of Thug's lawyer Brian Steel for contempt of court. He was sentenced to twenty days in jail but was granted an emergency bond as he appealed to the decision.