Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Alexis Mills, 23, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“This case presents a version of the ‘black widow’ crime scenario occasionally seen by law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “The defendant, taking advantage of a prior intimate relationship with the victim, induced the victim to open a locked door, allowing an accomplice to enter the premises and execute the victim.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was a member and associate of the LRGP Gang which operated primarily in the area of Lombard, Rother, Playter and Gibson Streets in the City of Buffalo. The gang is alleged to be an organization engaged in violent criminal activity, including the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine and the use of firearms.

Between 2009 and January 23, 2012, the defendant conspired with others, including LRGP leader Dewayne Gray, to distribute crack cocaine. Mills also assisted Gray by managing 42 Memorial Drive in Buffalo which was used by the gang and Gray as a distribution point.

In April 2011, the defendant and others, while at 318 Sobieski Street in Buffalo, agreed that a member of the Cold Springs Gang, a rival criminal organization, should be murdered in retaliation for the killing of Dewayne Gray's brother, Alonzo Scott, in March 2011. The individuals settled upon killing Amir Chambers, whom they believed to be associated with the Cold Springs Gang.

After a failed attempt to poison Amir Chambers, it was agreed that Chambers would be killed by shooting him. On April 20, 2011, Mills arranged to meet Amir Chambers at a residence at 111 Mills Street in Buffalo, taking advantage of a prior intimate relationship she had with him. Mills was accompanied by a co-defendant, who was to kill the victim once the victim allowed Mills inside the residence. As planned by Mills and the co-defendant, Chambers opened the residence door upon seeing the defendant, at which time the co-defendant killed Chambers by shooting him in the head. Mills, for her part, kicked the victim in the head following the shooting to ensure that Chambers was in fact deceased.

U.S. Attorney Hochul further stated “This case also shows precisely why this Office continues to target street gangs and narcotics trafficking organizations. Fortunately, with this conviction, one less gang member is now able to walk the streets of Buffalo.”

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Office and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 14, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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