A Charlotte man was sentenced today to 240 months in prison for Conspiracy to Participate in a Pattern of Racketeering (RICO conspiracy).  

On July 22, 2019, Demetrius Deshaun Toney, 28, pled guilty to RICO conspiracy.  According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial of the co-defendants, Toney, was a member of the Black Mob Gangstas (BMG) organization led by Demetrice R. Devine, which later became the Donald Gee Family (DGF).  Devine also led the Gangsta Killer Bloods (GKB). The BMG/DGF are sets of the “Bloods” gang whose members committed various crimes in the city of Raleigh and especially in the area of Haywood Street.     

 

BMG/DGF members committed acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline, both within the gang and against non-gang members.  Members committed acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, and assaults, in order to maintain their positions within the gang and to be promoted within the leadership structure of the gang.

 

BMG/DGF, including its leadership, members and associates, constituted an “enterprise” as defined by Title 18, United States Code, Section 1961(4), that is, a group of individuals’ associated-in-fact. The enterprise constituted an ongoing organization, whose members functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose of achieving the objectives of the enterprise. The enterprise was engaged in, and its activities affected, interstate and foreign commerce.  The purpose of the BMG/DGF enterprise included the following:

 

a.         Preserving and protecting the power, territory, reputation, respect, and profits of the enterprise through the use of intimidation, violence, threats of violence, assaults, murder and attempted murder;

 

b.         Promoting and enhancing the enterprise and its members’ and associates’ activities, including, but not limited to, murders, attempted murders, robberies, drug distribution and other criminal activities;

 

c.         Keeping the community and rivals in fear of the enterprise and its members and associates through violence and threats of violence;

 

d.         Providing financial support and information to gang members, including those incarcerated in the United States;

 

e.         Providing assistance to other gang members who committed crimes for and on behalf of the gang; and,

 

f.          Hindering, obstructing, and preventing law enforcement officers from identifying, apprehending, and successfully prosecuting and punishing members of the enterprise.

 

BMG/DGF also held gang meetings to communicate gang information, to recruit members, issue punishment and collect gang dues from each BMG/DGF member for the benefit of the BMG/DGF organization.  A portion of the dues were saved and utilized locally in what was referred to as a “community rent box” (CRB) while another portion was sent up the chain of command to gang leadership in Virginia and New York.  BMG/DGF members were permitted to earn their money for dues through various methods, including, but not limited to, robberies, fraud schemes, and drug distribution.  The monies were used locally for loans to gang members, for drug purchases, for firearm purchases, for gifts, and cellular telephones for high-ranking members who were in jail.  Devine ordered that individuals selling narcotics in and around Haywood Street who were not BMG/DGF members were also required to pay gang dues in order to continue their drug sales in territory controlled by BMG/DGF.  Individuals who did not pay gang dues risked being robbed, assaulted, or murdered. 

 

Toney along with other gang members conspired to shoot an 18-year-old rival gang member, Rodriguez Burrell, because Burrell refused to pay money to BMG/DGF.  Burrell was shot multiple times in the presence of his father and died of his wounds.

 

In his leadership position, Devine directed members of his gang to shoot a 16-year-old rival gang member, Adarius Fowler, who died from gunshot wounds.  He also ordered a gang member to shoot a person who provided information to law enforcement regarding the murder of Fowler.  While this person was recovering from those gunshot injuries in the hospital, Devine ordered that the person be killed.  Devine presided over a “beat-in” gang initiation of a BMG/DGF gang member and personally assaulted another gang member whose loyalty he questioned.  Devine conspired with other gang members to silence and threaten gang members that had been provided subpoenas to testify in a federal proceeding.

 

Toney also sold drugs on behalf of BMG/ DGF.  Toney’s sentencing was the final sentencing of a BMG/DGF gang member in a lengthy investigation as a part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation (OCDETF) targeting violent gang members and drug traffickers in Raleigh, North Carolina.   

 

BMG/DGF’s leader, Demetrice Devine, also known as “Respect,” was convicted by a jury of RICO conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, murder with a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to commit witness tampering.  Devine was sentenced on May 22, 2020 to four consecutive life sentences, followed by 240 months imprisonment.  Brandon Mangum, also known as “B Easy,” a high-ranking gang member, was convicted by a jury of RICO conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, murder with a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.  Mangum was sentenced on June 22, 2020 to three consecutive life sentences followed by 240 months imprisonment.  Jamario Keon Jones, also known as “Spect Junior” and “Skeeno,” was sentenced on February 6, 2020 to 132 months imprisonment for murder with a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  Cleveland McNair, also known as “Blee,” was sentenced on May 8, 2018 to 60 months imprisonment for RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.  Christopher Darnell Evans, also known as “Racks” and “Snacks,” was sentenced on December 13, 2017 to 120 months imprisonment for RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.  Brenda Joyce Brown, also known as “Lady Banga,” was sentenced on January 16, 2018 to 42 months imprisonment for violent crime in aid of racketeering.  Katherine Victoria Gast, also known as “Kat Stacks,” was sentenced on June 1, 2018 to 60 months imprisonment for violent crime in aid of racketeering.  Finally, Shaiona Marie Smith, also known as “Slyfox,” was sentenced on January 19, 2018 to 78 months imprisonment for violent crime in aid of racketeering.

 

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Raleigh Police Department led the investigation with assistance from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Wake County Sheriff’s Office, Raleigh/ Wake City-County Bureau of Identification, United States Marshal’s Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.   Assistant United States Attorneys Dena King and Scott Lemmon prosecuted this case with Christina Taylor with the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.