Bloods on trial
Robert Snell
More than a dozen defendants in the Seven Mile Bloods case are scheduled to stand trial in coming months in front of U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh.
Here are some of the key figures charged in the case:
Corey Bailey
Corey Bailey (Video: YouTube)
Age: 30
Home: Detroit
Nickname: Cocaine Sonny, Sonny
Bio: A lifelong Detroiter, rapper and leader of the Seven Mile Bloods, according to prosecutors. Bailey was acquitted of first-degree murder in 2010. While engaging in gang activity, Bailey participated in Detroit's "Stop the Violence" program in 2013, traveling to area high schools to discourage students from engaging in violent behavior, according to court records. He was arrested in July 2014, convicted of a federal gun crime after investigators found him with a loaded semi-automatic handgun and sentenced to 55 months in prison.
Rap sheet: Since age 12, Bailey has had at least 26 contacts with law enforcement outside prison, including the time West Virginia detectives found him with 53 pain pills, and almost two dozen problems behind bars. Bailey has four prior adult convictions, including two drug offenses.
Status: Jailed since 2014. Scheduled to stand trial June 5.
Indictment: Bailey is facing 11 charges, including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering and three counts of attempted murder.
Maximum possible penalty: Life in prison. In a decision announced May 15, the Justice Department decided not to pursue the death penalty upon conviction.
Billy Arnold
Billy Arnold (Video: (YouTube)
Age: 31
Home: Detroit
Nicknames: B-Man, Berenzo, Killa
Bio: Former handyman and a leader of the Seven Mile Bloods, according to the government.
Rap sheet: Arnold has been convicted of multiple crimes, including felony assault and a weapons charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mona Majzoub called his criminal history an "unabated" stretch of lawlessness since he was 17.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mona Majzoub characterizing Billy Arnold's rap sheet before ordering him jailed without bond.
Status: Jailed since September 2015 while awaiting trial.
Indictment: Arnold is facing 31 charges, including racketeering conspiracy, two counts of murder and nine counts of attempted murder. The Justice Department recently signaled it would pursue the death penalty upon conviction -- the second such determination during President Donald Trump's administration.
No one has been convicted of federal charges and sentenced to death in Michigan since 2002. That’s when Marvin Gabrion of western Michigan was sentenced for killing a woman in a national forest in 1997 before she could testify against him in a rape case.
Maximum possible penalty: Death.
Robert Brown
Robert Brown (Video: YouTube)
Age: 36
Home: Warren
Nickname:RO Da Great
Bio: Brown is a founding member of the Seven Mile Bloods, prosecutors say.
Rap sheet: Multiple arrests and convictions for violent acts, including assault with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.
Status: Jailed since March 2016. Scheduled to stand trial June 5.
Indictment: Brown is charged with killing 25-year-old Cleo McDougal. He was shot to death in June 2006 in a killing wrongly blamed on a man named Lucky, who was exonerated after spending more than seven years in prison. Former gang member Jonathan “Bleek” Murphey witnessed the killing, according to testimony.
Brown tried to intimidate the witness by releasing a rap track with the lyrics “'Bleek' a cop, so I gun him down,” according to the government. The lyrics and threats didn’t stop Murphey from testifying earlier this year.
“(Brown) shot his face off,” Murphey testified.
Brown is facing seven charges, including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering and attempted murder in aid of racketeering.
Maximum possible penalty: Death.
Jeffery Adams
Jeffery Adams, wearing a red bandana, is featured in a YouTube rap video. (Video: YouTube)
Age: 29
Home: Detroit
Nickname: Brick, Product
Bio: Member of Seven Mile Bloods who is linked to the gang’s Instagram page, "@000_big_blood,” according to prosecutors. The Instagram account was used to post hit lists of rival gang members and fuel the rivalry. Adams actively encouraged murder and shootings during the gang war by posting threats on social media, according to the government. In June 2015, Adams sent alleged Seven Mile Bloods leader Billy Arnold a photo of one rival target and a map to the man's house, prosecutors said.
Rap sheet: One apparent prior drug conviction.
Status: Jailed without bond since March 2016. His case ended in a hung jury in March and he is awaiting retrial.
Indictment: Adams is facing two charges: racketeering conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Maximum possible penalty: Life in prison
Arlandis Shy
Arlandis Shy (Video: YouTube)
Age: 28
Home: Clinton Township
Nickname: Grymee, VIL
Bio: Shy was raised on the east side of Detroit and worked temporary jobs at auto-parts factories. Shy is a long-standing member of the Seven Mile Bloods, prosecutors say.
Rap sheet: Multiple arrests and convictions in Michigan and West Virginia.
Status: Jailed since early 2016. Scheduled to stand trial June 5.
Indictment: Shy is facing 11 charges, including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering and three counts of attempted murder.
Maximum possible penalty: Death.
Quincy Graham
Quincy Graham (Video: YouTube)
Age: 34
Home: Detroit
Nicknames: Dubb, Q
Bio: Graham is a long-standing member of the Seven Mile Bloods, prosecutors say. He was shot in December 2014 during the war between the Seven Mile Bloods and rival gangs, prosecutors say. Billy Arnold asked him to post a video on social media taunting rivals following a shooting on Mother's Day 2015, according to the government. His lawyer denies that Graham is a member of the gang.
Rap sheet: Graham was convicted of a federal firearm crime in an unrelated case and sentenced to 27 months in federal prison in 2016.
Status: Jailed since August 2015. His racketeering case involving the Seven Mile Bloods ended in a hung jury in March and Graham is awaiting retrial.
Indictment: Graham is facing two charges, including racketeering conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.
Maximum possible penalty: Life in prison, $250,000 fine.
Keithon Porter
Keithon Porter (Photo: Midland County Jail)
Age: 31
Home: Detroit
Nickname: KP
Bio: A former collision shop employee, Porter is an associate of alleged Seven Mile Bloods member Billy Arnold, according to prosecutors. Porter is accused of being involved in one homicide and two shootings. His lawyer says Porter was shot multiple times by a government witness in March 2016.
Rap sheet: Five drug-related convictions since 2008.
Status: Jailed since December 2016. Scheduled to stand trial in June.
Indictment: Porter is facing 14 charges, including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering and four counts of attempted murder.
Maximum possible penalty: Death.
Michael Rogers
Michael Rogers (Video: YouTube)
Age: 35
Home: Eastpointe
Nicknames: Smoke, Smokey, Ace
Bio: An original member of the Seven Mile Bloods, according to the government. He is Corey Bailey's older brother and president of the rap label Hard Work Entertainment. Rogers' photo appeared on a rival social media "hit list" during the ongoing war and he survived being shot approximately 18 times outside of his house in March 2015.
Status: Rogers faced up to life in prison but was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and a gun crime March 16. Rogers said he spent two years “and 15 days” in prison before being acquitted and released from custody.
His words: “I told them I was innocent from the get-go,” Rogers told The News.