Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Jury Convicts Members of 36th Street Bang Squad on Racketeering Related Murders and Shootings
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal jury convicted seven Newport News and Hampton men today on charges including racketeering conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking.
“The 36th Street Bang Squad is a violent and vicious criminal enterprise,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The murders were no random acts of violence, rather they were the product of a deliberate effort of 36th Street Bang Squad to attack rivals and enhance the reputation of the gang. I want to thank our trial team and investigative partners at the ATF, Hampton Police Division, and the Newport News Police for their terrific work on this case.”
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, the defendants carried on the affairs of the 36th Street Bang Squad racketeering enterprise, by committing numerous acts of violence and drug trafficking including the double murder of Jada Richardson and Domingo Davis, on April 6, 2015, and the murder of Dwayne Parker on March 8, 2015, as well as numerous retaliatory shootings against rival gang members. Evidence presented at trial showed their activities occurred in multiple locations in downtown Newport News and Hampton.
“These gang members terrorized people, and brought not only drugs and firearms into their neighborhoods but violence and fear as well," said Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division. "They showed repeatedly that they do not value human life or the safety of innocent bystanders. ATF is proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to take dangerous offenders like them off the street. This verdict should be a warning to anyone out there committing violent crime in our communities.”
|
Name, Age Hometown |
Conviction(s) |
Sentencing Date |
|
Martin L. Hunt, 22 Newport News |
Racketeering Conspiracy; Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Use of a Firearm Resulting in Death; Attempted Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Possession/Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering |
May 8, 2020 |
|
Xavier Greene, 25 Newport News |
Racketeering Conspiracy; Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Use of a Firearm Resulting in Death; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Possession/Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence |
May 6, 2020 |
|
Deshaun Richardson, 24 Newport News |
Racketeering Conspiracy |
June 5, 2020 |
|
Ryan Taybron, 22 Hampton |
Racketeering Conspiracy; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Possession/Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence; Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking |
June 3, 2020 |
|
Eric Nixon, 24 Newport News |
Racketeering Conspiracy; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Possession/Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence; False Statement |
May 13, 2020 |
|
Geovanni Douglas, 24 Newport News |
Racketeering Conspiracy; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Possession/Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence |
May 28, 2020 |
|
Raymond Palmer, 29 Newport News |
Racketeering Conspiracy; Attempted Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering; Possession/Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence |
May 19, 2020 |
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian A. Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division; Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division; and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard J. Zlotnick and Brian J. Samuels, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross, and Trial Attorney Chad W. McHenry of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-52.
###