Appeal of life sentences for Raleigh Bloods gang members is rejected, court rules
A federal court has rejected appeals of life sentences in prison for two Raleigh gang leaders convicted of racketeering, drug trafficking and gang-related murder.
Demetrice “Respect” Devine, of Garner and Brandon “B-Easy” Mangum of Knightdale were members of the Black Mob Gangstas and Donald Gee Family, both affiliated with the Bloods. Devine was the leader of the BMG, according to prosecutors.
The BMG operated around Haywood Street in Southeast Raleigh, prosecutors say, controlling cocaine and marijuana traffic and enforcing their street rules with extortion and murder.
As part of a federal crackdown on Raleigh gangs, the duo was convicted in October 2019, then sentenced to multiple life sentences each. Devine is currently serving his life sentences at the “Supermax” federal prison in Colorado.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous opinion affirming their convictions and multiple life sentences for Devine and Mangum.
“These gang leaders used gun violence, intimidation, and murder to terrorize parts of Raleigh for nearly two decades,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley of the Eastern District of North Carolina in a news release.
Easley said that the sentences will ensure that “they will spend the rest of their lives behind bars.”
“We will never stop seeking justice for victims of gun violence and we will ensure sentences reflect the severity of the crime committed,” he said.
Murder, drug trafficking convictions in Raleigh
In a 2017 indictment, prosecutors accused Devine of directing the shooting death of 16-year-old Adarius Fowler, who himself was a gang member, The News & Observer previously reported.
Fowler was murdered in 2008 on the 300 block of Tarboro Street in downtown Raleigh, which was the third homicide on that street in three years at the time, The N&O reported.
Prosecutors said Devine also ordered a gang member to shoot a person who provided information to law enforcement regarding the murder of Fowler.
Mangum and others conspired to kill 18-year-old rival gang member Rodriguez Burrell because he refused to pay money to their gang, prosecutors said. Burrell was shot multiple times in the presence of his father.
Proceeds gained from drug trafficking, fraud and robberies benefited the gang’s chain of command to gang leadership in Virginia and New York. The money was used locally for loans to BMG and DGF gang members and also used to finance drug purchases, firearm purchases, gifts, and cellphones for high-ranking members in jail.
Devine ordered that individuals selling drugs in and around Haywood Street who were not in his gang be required to pay gang dues, prosecutors said, and those who didn’t risked violence against them.
Devine presided over a “beat-in” gang initiation of a gang member, assaulted another member whose loyalty he questioned and conspired to silence members who were subpoenaed to testify in trial, prosecutors said.
The appeals court said in its opinion that “Devine’s desire for ‘respect’ at all costs led to the murder of Adarius Fowler, while the Gangstas’ insatiable desire for ‘money’ led to the execution of Rodriguez Burrell. This collective malevolence ... led to a neighborhood where so many deserved so much better and where respect for the old and opportunities for the young existed no longer.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2022 at 7:50 PM.
