Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Memphis, TN – The alleged head governor of FAM Mob, a violent street gang based throughout North Memphis and Shelby County, has been sentenced to 120 months for felony firearm possession. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentencing today.

According to information presented in court, 28-year-old Jarvis Lewis, aka Jabo, of Memphis, unlawfully possessed a Jimenez Arms 9mm pistol.

On October 27, 2014, Memphis Police officers responded to shots fired at the Ridgecrest Apartments Complex. The complex is allegedly used as the headquarters of FAM Mob, a violent street gang prevalent in Frayser, Northhaven, Raleigh and Millington.

Upon arriving on the scene, officers learned that two men with guns — one of them being Lewis — entered a unit in the apartment complex, according to information presented in court. After locating the unit, officers asked for the defendants to leave the residence. The defendants refused to comply, and law enforcement entered the apartment. Lewis and his co-defendant were in the apartment’s master bedroom. A loaded 9mm pistol, partially sticking out of a bag of sugar, was also located by law enforcement while searching the apartment.

FAM Mob’s hierarchy allegedly consists of a head governor, governors, CEOs, big "homies" and little "homies." Lewis allegedly became the leader of FAM Mob after its former head governor, James McCracken, was indicted federally in November 2014 for violating the Hobbs Act. The Hobbs Act makes it a federal crime to commit a robbery that interferes with interstate commerce. In July 2011, McCracken and other FAM Mob members allegedly robbed a drug dealer who was trafficking narcotics manufactured outside of the district.

In November 2015, a federal jury convicted Lewis of one count of felony possession of a firearm.

On Friday, February 5, 2016, U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman sentenced Lewis to 120 months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force, a collective comprised of personnel from the Memphis Police Department; Shelby County Sheriff’s Office; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The PSN Task Force works in a unified effort against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague the greater Shelby County area.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Whitmore and Elizabeth Rogers prosecuted this case on the government’s behalf.

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