Ten charged with being members of violent Raleigh street gang

Federal prosecutors say 10 members of a violent street gang who operated east of downtown Raleigh have been indicted on racketeering charges and other related offenses, including the murders of two rival gang members in 2008 and 2009.

One of the victims was Adarius Fowler, a 16-year-old whose drive-by shooting death on Tarboro Road led to the implementation of a community policing program based on input from residents on how to improve safety in the neighborhood.

The second victim, Rodriguez D. Shay Burrell, was gunned down outside his father’s home at 500 Haywood St., a few blocks from a newly formed police command unit. Federal prosecutors say the indicted gang members operated primarily on Haywood Street.

Local and federal authorities have accused the 10 of being members of the “Black Mob Gangstas/Donald Gee Family,” described by investigators as a Bloods street gang, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

An investigation by the Justice Department, the FBI, Raleigh police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office resulted in a 11-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Jan. 20 and unsealed Monday in federal court in Raleigh. The indictment charges the 10 with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, murder with a firearm, drug trafficking conspiracy, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, extortion and related offenses. Those charged include the street gang’s senior leadership, according to the Justice Department.

The 10 who were indicted are:

▪ Demetrice Regus Devine, who is also known as “Respect,” 34

▪ Dontaous Demond Devine, also known as “Scooch” and “Boochie,” 28

▪ Demetrius Deshaun Toney, also known as “Meat,” 24

▪ Brandon Jowan Mangum, also known as “B-Easy,” 28

▪ Jamario Keon Jones, also known as “Spect Junior” and “Skeeno,” 24

▪ Cleveland McNair, also known as “Blee,” 33

▪ Christopher Darnell Evans, also known as “Racks” and “Snacks,” 27

▪ Brenda Joyce Brown, also known as “Lady Banga,” 32

▪ Katherine Victoria Gast, also known as“Kat Snacks,” 25

▪ Shaiona Marie Smith, also known as “Slyfox,” 22

Prosecutors say the BMG/DGF Bloods operated in the Haywood Street area since the early 2000s and was organized according to a detailed hierarchy. “Senior leadership regularly conducted formal meetings and collected dues from the rank and file members, assaulting members who failed to pay or follow orders,” according to the press release.

Gang members were required to pay monthly or weekly dues, a portion of which went into a “community rent box” used to purchase drugs, firearms and mobile phones, according to the indictment. The money was also used to post bail, to support gang members in jail or prison and to compensate the gang’s leaders, the indictment says.

Prosecutors identified Demetrice Devine and Dontaous Devine as the gang’s leaders. They have charged Dontaous Devine, Demetrius Toney and Brandon Mangum with the fatal shooting of Burrell on May 25, 2009, for refusing to pay BMG/DGF’s gang dues.

Investigators also charged Jamario Jones and another gang member with fatally shooting Fowler under orders from a high-ranking BMG/DGF member on Nov. 21, 2008. Days later, on Nov. 26, Jones followed the instructions of a high-ranking gang member who ordered him to shoot someone with the initials “B.P.” for providing the police with information about the Fowler shooting, according to the indictment.

All of the defendants charged have been arrested, according to the press release.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Ten charged with being members of violent Raleigh street gang."