After a decade of litigation, Young Thug and Birdman have triumphed over legal claims that sought to hold them liable for a shooting on Lil Wayne’s tour bus in Atlanta.
Two Georgia court orders on Tuesday (Nov. 10), obtained by Billboard, dismissed Thug (Jeffrey Williams) and Birdman (Bryan Williams) from the lawsuit filed back in 2016 by Wayne’s former tour bus driver, Alvin Lewis. The driver still has civil claims for emotional damages pending against two other men over the 2015 shooting, a drive-by that occurred on the I-285 freeway after Wayne performed at The Compound club in Atlanta.
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A man named Jimmy Winfrey (also known as Peewee Roscoe) pled guilty to the shooting in 2015, though that admission was wiped on appeal after it was found to be involuntary. Winfrey separately pled guilty in 2024 as part of the sweeping YSL racketeering prosecution, in which the Wayne tour bus incident was cited as one of several violent acts supposedly connected to Thug’s Atlanta label. Thug ultimately went free in that criminal case after a dramatic legal saga.
In the civil case, Lewis alleged that Winfrey was working at the direction of both Thug and Birdman when he shot at Wayne’s tour bus. Both rappers say they had nothing to do with the shooting. Judge Eric A. Brewton sided with the duo on Tuesday, saying there’s “no evidence of an employment relationship” between Winfrey and either YSL or Birdman’s Cash Money Records.
The lawsuit claimed that Winfrey was Thug’s tour manager in 2015, but Judge Brewton said this is unsupported by any evidence. As for Birdman, the judge said there was nothing but “pure speculation and conjecture” in Lewis’ theory that the Cash Money boss orchestrated the shooting to get back at Wayne for suing his label that year.
Lewis obtained evidence showing a series of calls placed in 2015 between Winfrey’s phone and Birdman’s phone, including on the night of the shooting. Judge Brewton said this did not move the needle, however, since he couldn’t tell “who made what calls, whether any calls were picked up and by whom, whether any conversation was had, or the content of any conversation.”
The judge thus threw out all claims against Thug, YSL, Birdman and Cash Money. Lewis’ attorney, Jeff Gewirtz, told Billboard on Wednesday (Nov. 11) that they plan to appeal the decision. Reps for Thug and Birdman did not return requests for comment.
Lewis still has claims against Winfrey and another man named Arnold Martinez, known as YSL Duke, who was also wrapped up in the YSL gang prosecution. A court conference to discuss potential trial logistics is scheduled for February.
