Three Memphis Gang Members Sentenced to Over 42 Years for Retaliatory Shooting in Residential Neighborhood
Unknown Vice Lords members fired 40-50 rounds into rival gang members’ home with families inside, prosecutors say
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Three members of a violent Memphis street gang have been sentenced to a combined total of over 42 years in prison for conspiring and attempting to commit a gang-related murder and firearms violations, the Justice Department announced.
Antwon Brown, also known as Yayo, 33, of Memphis, was sentenced to 300 months in prison for attempting to commit murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied residence. Cordera Douglas, also known as Chuckie Dee, 37, of Memphis, was sentenced to 87 months for conspiring to commit murder. Willie Merriweather, also known as Willie, 42, of Antioch, Tennessee, was sentenced to 120 months for conspiring to commit murder.
According to court documents, all three were ranked members of the Unknown Vice Lords, also known as The Ghost Mob, a criminal enterprise that controlled territory throughout Memphis, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Members of UVL committed murders, assaults, and drug trafficking on behalf of the enterprise.
Court documents allege that on Sept. 6, 2020, rival gang members opened fire on UVL members and their families, injuring four people. Merriweather, a high-ranking UVL leader, ordered a retaliatory attack. Douglas participated in a gang meeting planning retaliation.
Shortly after midnight on Sept. 7, 2020, Brown traveled to the residence of the rival gang members armed with assault-style rifles and wearing masks and gloves. Brown intentionally shot approximately 40-50 bullets into the residence with the rival gang members inside. Neighborhood security cameras captured the shooting, and video showed Brown using, carrying, and firing multiple firearms into the residence.
“These individuals showed a blatant disregard for public safety by engaging in a gang shooting in the middle of a residential neighborhood,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Gang violence terrorizes our communities, fosters fear, destabilizes neighborhoods, and endangers the lives of law-abiding residents. The Criminal Division is standing up for the rule of law. We will continue to dismantle these criminal organizations to zealously protect the safety and security of American citizens.”
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee issued a stark warning to gang members.
“The days of criminal gangs controlling the streets of Memphis are over,” Dunavant said. “Gang culture, rivalries, and beefs beget more senseless gang violence that endangers innocent citizens. If you are a member of a criminal gang committed to a lifestyle of lawlessness, no matter your rank, role, or nickname – your days are numbered – there will be a reckoning.”
ATF Nashville Field Division Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet said the agency’s primary mission is ensuring public safety by combating violent crime.
“Individuals who deliberately engage in violent activities such as retaliatory gang shootings render our communities vulnerable to great harm, instill fear, and ultimately diminish the quality of life for all citizens,” VanVliet said. “The ATF will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate offenders who render our communities unsafe.”
Co-defendant Ricky Rogers, Jr., also known as Double R, RR, 32, of Memphis, is set to be sentenced on Nov. 5. Co-defendant Tevin Richardson, also known as Santana, 34, of Memphis, is set for trial on April 4, 2027.
Michigan Doctor Convicted of Flooding Communities With 2 Million Adderall Pills Through Done ADHD Platform
Jonathan Decker is the 11th defendant convicted in a $100 million scheme that distributed over 37 million stimulant pills nationwide
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal jury in the Western District of Michigan convicted a Rockford doctor for distributing over 2 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants through the Done ADHD platform, the Justice Department announced.
Jonathan Decker, 46, provided prescriptions for methamphetamine and amphetamines to patients without examining them, including to patients with substance use disorders and significant mental health diagnoses whose symptoms were exacerbated by the drugs he prescribed. Decker was paid more than $1 million for his prescriptions.
Decker is now the 11th defendant convicted of participating in a $100 million drug distribution and health care fraud scheme perpetrated by officers and employees of California-based digital health company Done Global, Inc.
“The Fraud Division is providing full-spectrum accountability for drug dealers who cloak their activities in online telemedicine platforms,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “With this conviction — the eleventh in this landmark prosecution — we reaffirm that the Fraud Division will hold fully accountable anyone, whether in a boardroom or a doctor’s office, who abuses their medical license and novel technologies to flood communities with dangerous drugs and put vulnerable patients at risk.”
The convicted defendants include Done Global’s CEO Ruthia He and Clinical President David Brody, who were ordered to forfeit over $90 million in company revenues and respectively sentenced to 72 months and 24 months in prison, as well as six other licensed prescribers and two other senior corporate employees. In addition to these 11 convictions, Done Global is presently charged with conspiracies to illegally distribute controlled substances, commit health care fraud, and obstruct justice.
According to the court documents, members of the conspiracy leveraged Done’s technological platform to illegally distribute over 37 million pills of Adderall to paying subscribers in all fifty states, all in service of CEO Ruthia He’s ultimate goal to build a company with an over $1 billion valuation. Members of the conspiracy targeted subscribers by paying over $40 million in social media advertisements designed to deceive viewers into believing they had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, rather than a host of other conditions that can impact attention and mood.
Done providers including Decker then prescribed addictive stimulants to paying subscribers to keep them as members of the Done platform, even when warned that members were suffering from Adderall psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions worsened by stimulant prescriptions, according to the government.
For instance, Decker prescribed methamphetamine to a patient with an active substance use disorder. The patient actively sought the methamphetamine prescription from him, and after she received it, she described for Decker how pharmacy after pharmacy had refused to fill the prescription.
Decker also prescribed Adderall to a patient he knew had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. After the patient’s mother messaged Decker and Done informing them of the schizophrenia diagnosis and explaining that Adderall exacerbated her psychotic symptoms, Decker still prescribed Adderall.
When pharmacies began refusing to fill any of Decker’s stimulant prescriptions, Decker speculated that “running a meth lab seems like a pretty good idea,” according to evidence presented at trial.
Decker recruited other medical professionals to the conspiracy through text messages in which he described his prescribing practices, and he earned thousands of dollars in referral bonuses for luring other medical professionals into the scheme.
“Dr. Decker’s reckless abuse of his medical license put vulnerable patients at risk and fueled dangerous drug abuse,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate such conduct — we will aggressively pursue and dismantle schemes that threaten public health and ensure those responsible face swift justice.”
Homeland Security Investigations New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas said a medical license is a public trust.
“This conviction brings accountability to a doctor who placed his own greed above patient safety and the law,” Gizas said. “As a co-leader of the Homeland Security Task Force New York, HSI New York contributed critical investigative expertise to exposing this conspiracy, and we will remain at the forefront of dismantling schemes that exploit health care systems, endanger vulnerable people and threaten the safety of our communities.”
IRS Criminal Investigation New York Executive Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr. said the evidence revealed a shocking disregard for patient safety.
“Jonathan Decker used his medical license as a license to profit, fueling addiction and putting vulnerable individuals at risk — all for personal gain,” Chavis said. “Our special agents followed the money, exposed the scheme, and worked relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to bring this defendant to justice. We will continue to pursue those who put greed above public health.”
The jury convicted Decker of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and six counts of distribution of controlled substances. A sentencing date has not been set. Decker faces a maximum penalty of 140 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Nine Alleged Makk Ballers Gang Members Charged in RICO Conspiracy, Ambush Murder in Eastern Virginia
Three defendants face life in prison in the killing of a rival gang member; prosecutors say the gang carried out shootings, robberies, and carjackings across Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have unsealed a second superseding indictment charging nine alleged gang members with racketeering influenced corrupt organization conspiracy, racketeering murder and attempted murder, and firearms offenses tied to their membership in the United Bloods Nation gang and the Cautious District subset of the Immaculate Balla Family, commonly called the Makk Ballers.
The indictment alleges the defendants were members of Cautious District, a violent street gang operating in Eastern Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware that participated in murder, robberies, narcotics trafficking, shootings, violent assaults, weapons violations, and other acts of violence.
The defendants are:
- Christopher Clovis-Weathers Monfiston, also known as “YB” and “Twin,” 34, of Chesapeake, Virginia;
- Tyvon Lyncurtis Smith, also known as “Rich Fargo,” “Cautious,” and “Teddy,” 34, of Parksley, Virginia;
- Ky’riq Nygee Weathers, also known as “OG Kane,” “Riq,” and “Rico,” 29, of Parksley, Virginia;
- Markiece Obryant Harmon, also known as “Issue” and “I$$Ue,” 41, of Hare Valley, Virginia;
- Zyshon Bell, also known as “Problem,” 24, of Temperanceville, Virginia;
- Travon Bell, also known as “Lil Sav” and “Sav,” 22, of Parksley, Virginia;
- Antoine Muhammad Beverley, also known as “Psycho,” 30, of Onancock, Virginia;
- Quaizal Kellam, also known as “Sleaze Da Fox,” “Front,” “Frontline,” and “Qui,” 25, of Exmore, Virginia; and
- Kemyrion Boggs, also known as “38,” 22, of Onancock, Virginia.
Smith, Monfiston, and Weathers were charged in the original indictment, and the newly added defendants were the result of additional investigation, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege that members and associates of the gang were expected to retaliate against members of rival gangs. On Feb. 13, 2024, Smith, Monfiston, and Weathers allegedly coordinated travel from their homes in Virginia Beach to a residence in Accomack County, where they hoped to encounter a rival gang member they believed had assaulted Weathers two days earlier. That night, they hid in the woods near the home and ambushed Victim 1, shooting him multiple times. Victim 1 died of his injuries.
The indictment also alleges that on Jan. 19, 2024, Smith, Boggs, and other Cautious District members shot at the home of the father of a rival gang member in an attempt to draw that member out of hiding. On Feb. 11, 2024, Smith, Weathers, Zyshon Bell, and other gang members returned to the residence. There, Zyshon Bell and another gang member looked through windows to locate the sleeping victim and fired dozens of shots into the home, striking Victim 2, who was partially paralyzed from his injuries.
Gang members were also allegedly involved in numerous other shootings, including at vehicles and homes associated with rival gang members. They also allegedly carried out robberies, including armed carjackings. During the execution of search warrants, law enforcement seized numerous firearms, including guns that were traced forensically to shootings carried out by the gang.
Smith, Monfiston, and Weathers each face a minimum penalty of life in prison for their role in Victim 1’s murder. Zyshon Bell faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. The remaining defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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