ATLANTA — Eight gang members have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the execution of a teenage member, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“The pain and fear these defendants caused through their senseless violence has forever altered the lives of the victims, the victims’ families, and the witnesses brave enough to assist investigators.” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.
According to Buchanan, the gang in question - the 135 Pirus gang - originated in Compton, California and has spread nationally, including in north Georgia. The lead defendant charged in the case, Maurice Antonio Kent, a.k.a. “Savage Duze,” was a leader in the gang with authority over members in the vicinity of Cartersville and Rome.
According to a release form the DOJ, on May 13, 2017, an argument broke outside a Brookhaven nightclub between a California 135 Pirus member and a rival gang member. The DOJ states Kent fired multiple rounds into a crowd of people outside the club, critically wounding the other gang member as well as a club security guard.
After fleeing from the scene, the DOJ said Kent tossed the firearm from a vehicle just before being caught by police. However, after being arrested and while in custody, he learned a fellow 17-year-old gang member, who may have witnessed the shooting, was interviewed by police.
Suspecting this 17-year-old of “snitching," 135 Pirus gang members lured the teen to Bartow County, where they "shot and killed him with Kent’s gun, leaving the boy’s body on a rural road," according to the DOJ.
The DOJ then goes on to describe Kent’s federal trial earlier this year. There a jury heard evidence that eight months prior to the nightclub shooting, "Kent committed a drive-by shooting of a man standing in his front yard in Cartersville, Georgia." Kent threw that gun into Lake Allatoona; however, it was later recovered by the FBI, who matched cartridge casings and a bullet from the drive-by shooting to Kent’s firearm.
In May of this year, Kent was found guilty of RICO Conspiracy, violent crime in aid of racketeering, discharging a firearm during the commission of those violent crimes, and possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon.
In August, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Meanwhile, Gary Terrell Davis - an associate of the 135 Piru gang responsible for a series of violent acts throughout the north Georgia - was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
In addition to Kent and Davis, the following 135 Pirus members and associates were convicted and sentenced in this case:
- Christopher Nwanjoku, a.k.a. “Problem": 135 Pirus leader from Lawrenceville, Georgia, received a sentence of 25 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Nwanjoku pled guilty to RICO Conspiracy.
- Jamel Dupree Hughes, a.k.a. “Savage,”: 135 Pirus member from Atlanta, Georgia, received a sentence of 26 years and two months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Hughes pled guilty to murder in aid of racketeering, use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
- Cedric Sams, Jr., a.k.a. “Awall,”: 135 Pirus member from Cartersville, Georgia, received a sentence of 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Sams pled guilty to murder in aid of racketeering and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
- Michael Kent, a.k.a. “Wikked,": 135 Pirus associate from Atlanta, Georgia, who is Maurice Antonio Kent’s twin brother, was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Michael Kent pled guilty to RICO Conspiracy.
- Jennifer Foutz, a.k.a. “Rose,”: 135 Pirus member from Acworth, Georgia, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Foutz pled guilty to aiding and abetting murder in aid of racketeering and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
- DaSean Dorey: 135 Pirus member from Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to ten years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Dorsey pled guilty to aiding and abetting murder in aid of racketeering and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
"While the perpetrators of these crimes are now in prison, tragically the gang culture that promoted these violent acts remains a scourge in our community," At-risk teens remain vulnerable to the lure of gang culture and require our collective diligence to avoid this dangerous path,” Attorney Buchanan added.
