Raleigh Crips gang member sentenced for conspiring to kill rival

A member of a Raleigh gang is headed to prison for 11 years after plotting to kill a rival gang member, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office.

On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley announced that Clinton Basco, 26, was sentenced to 132 months in prison for his involvement in trafficking meth amphetamine and participating in a conspiracy to commit murder.

Basco’s case is part of a larger effort of “taking down dangerous gang leaders,” Easley said in a statement. More than 20 indictments have been issued in a large plot among gang members like Basco to kill each other.

“Basco was in a leadership role within the EGTC (Raleigh Eight Trey Gangster Crips) and was known as an enforcer who committed acts of violence of behalf of the EGTC in Raleigh,” the statement said.

At the direction of Crips members Dexter Maxwell and Rayquan Wiggins, Basco and Deandre Earp were ordered to kill an unnamed rival gang member.

Law enforcement arrested all the men before the murder could take place, according to the statement

In January 2022, Earp was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison. In February, Wiggins was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Basco pleaded guilty to the drug trafficking charges and murder conspiracy in June 2021.

This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 3:50 PM.