Vice Lords convicted of racketeering in latest gang crackdown by feds in Detroit
Robert SnellDetroit — Three members of the Almighty Vice Lord Nation were convicted of federal racketeering charges Wednesday, the latest in a years-long prosecution of a violent street gangs blamed for murder, drugs and other crimes in Detroit.
The jury verdicts followed a seven-week trial in federal court in Detroit almost three years after federal agents arrested more than three dozen members and associates of the gang in an attempt to stem the rise of gun violence in one of the nation's most dangerous cities.
The trial was the second wave of prosecutions involving members of the gang and featured testimony about an extensive criminal enterprise that included murder and drug dealing nationwide.
Seven Mile Bloods gang leader Billy Arnold faces sentencing in federal court
"...A jury delivered justice to the men responsible for a brutal murder that took place in broad daylight in a park where children play,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement. “It gave closure to a mother who was viciously shot in front of her kids. And, hopefully, it sent a clear message to those who are involved in gangs that perpetuate so much violence: stop or we will stop you.”
Prosecutors locally have used racketeering laws to secure the convictions of more than 100 people in approximately the last decade, including gangsters, bikers, methamphetamine dealers — and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
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The three men convicted Wednesday are:
∎ Davun Baskerville, 34, of Detroit, security chief for the Traveling Vice Lords branch of the gang. Baskerville was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and gun crimes with a special finding that he was responsible for killing a 29-year-old man in front of his two children at the Shirley-Plymouth playground on Detroit’s west side, prosecutors said. He also shot and injured the children's pregnant mother who witnessed the murder, according to the government. He faces a mandatory sentence of 20 years and up to life in prison.
∎ Terry Douglas, 44, of Detroit, chief of the Traveling Vice Lords branch. He was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, with a special finding that he was responsible for aiding and abetting the murder. He also was held responsible for a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, among other crimes. He is facing a mandatory 35-year sentence and up to life in prison.
∎ Schuyler Belew, Jr, 31, of Detroit, a leader of the Traveling Vice Lords. He was convicted of racketeering conspiracy with a special finding that he was responsible for aiding and abetting the 2020 murder. He also was found responsible for a gun crime. He faces a mandatory sentence of 20 years and up to life in prison.
A fourth man, Lawon Carter, 36, of Detroit, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack, cocaine and heroin and a gun crime. But the jury acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy. Carter faces a mandatory-minimum sentence of 15 years and up to life in prison.
The four men are scheduled to be sentenced in August and September by U.S. District Judge Jonathan Grey.
"These four defendants represent the worst of the worst in our community," Jimmy Deir, special agent in charge of the Detroit field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said in a statement. "They let their individual and collective greed guide their violent pathway straight into federal prison."
Lawyers for the men could not be reached for comment immediately Wednesday.
The jury verdicts marked the second wave of convictions in a broader criminal investigation targeting the gang.
In November, three national leaders were convicted of racketeering conspiracy and other crimes in federal court in Detroit, including alleged Michigan gang leader Kevin "Spaghetti" Fordham of Detroit.
He was charged alongside 39 other alleged enforcers, associates and high-ranking deputies and accused of orchestrating a racketeering conspiracy since 2012. The alleged conspiracy involved murder, drug dealing, extortion, stabbings and murder plots, including hits on inmates within the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Fordham is awaiting a federal prison sentence.
Most recently Seven Mile Bloods gang leader Billy Arnold was sentenced to life in prison and his case was among 20 members and associates of the gang who have been convicted during a prosecution chronicled in the serial narrative "Death by Instagram" in The Detroit News in 2018.
rsnell@detroitnews.com