Raleigh Crips member sentenced for conspiring to kill rival, sell meth
A Raleigh man who was the second in command of a local Crips gang was sentenced to 40 years in prison Friday for conspiring to kill a rival gang member and sell methamphetamine.
Deandre Earp, 33, was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty on May 5, 2021, to charges that include conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced in a news release.
Earp, a high-ranking member of the Eight Trey Gangster Crips, had also pleaded guilty to a charge of violent crimes in aid of racketeering for conspiring to kill a rival gang member in retaliation for being assaulted by him, the release stated.
Officials said Earp was tased and assaulted by the rival gang member on Quarry Street in July 2019, and decided to retaliate by making plans to kill him with other ETGC members.
Earp and another co-defendant, who was not named in the release, were on their way to kill the gang member who had assaulted Earp when Raleigh police officers pulled them over during a traffic stop.
Both Earp and the co-defendant were carrying loaded firearms in the car and were taken into custody, officials said, adding that Earp’s arrest was based on electronic, physical, and documentary evidence.
Officials also determined Earp had been conspiring to distribute more than 4.5 kilograms of meth in the Raleigh area, the release stated.
Gang with ‘propensity for violence’
The ETGC, described by officials as a “nationally recognized criminal street gang” originating in Los Angeles, has operated in North Carolina and the state prison system for nearly two decades.
The gang grew out of Los Angeles in the 1960s. A regional violent gang task force began investigating the gang in 2017, The News & Observer previously reported.
According to officials, the gang is known to have a “propensity for violence” that includes homicides, aggravated assaults and robberies.
“Members and associates of ETGC have been involved in numerous violent crimes that have resulted in the loss of life, decrease in quality of life, and damage to societal norms in and around the City of Raleigh,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Last February, federal prosecutors accused two other ETGC members, Antonio “Lil Tony” Davenport and Dival “Paco” Nygee Magwood of committing racketeering, fraud and violent crimes to enrich gang members. Davenport and Magwood were also charged in connection with the shooting death of 9-year-old Z’Yon Person in August 2019.
In his position as the second in command of the ETGC, Earp was heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the gang, officials said.
Drugs sent from LA to Raleigh
On top of directing subordinates to sell meth in Raleigh, Earp discussed “strategy, policy and decision-making” with the organization’s leader in North Carolina, as well as ETGC members in L.A.
He also trained less experienced gang members on how to distribute narcotics without being detected by law enforcement, officials said.
Earp was prosecuted as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation, a national effort run by the U.S. Department of Justice. Over the course of its investigation, the task force uncovered “a complex network of high-ranking” ETGC members based in L.A. who helped distribute kilograms of illicit drugs to Raleigh.
Some of gang’s L.A.-based members have also been indicted in this case, officials said.
The Raleigh Police Department and Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification helped in the investigation, the release stated. Federal agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service also assisted.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 7:00 PM.
