DETROIT – Two members, including the top leader, of the Detroit branch of the Rollin 60s Crips street gang were sentenced Friday to racketeering and firearms charges in connection with their roles in gang-related murders, shootings and drug distribution.
READ: 2 members of Detroit's Rollin 60s Crips street gang plead guilty to racketeering
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According to the indictment, the Rollin’ 60s Crips is a national street gang founded in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1970s.
In 2008, Jerome Hamilton, who pleaded guilty, started a Detroit line of the Rollin 60s, which now boasts approximately 150 members who operate primarily on the west side of Detroit near Seven Mile Road and Tracey Street.
Officials said the Rollin 60s Detroit chapter is a violent organization responsible for numerous assaults, robberies, carjackings and the unlawful possession and trafficking of firearms and narcotics in and around the Detroit metropolitan area over the last nine years.
The gang uses violence as a means of retribution for actions of rival gang members, to intimidate witnesses and as a means for individuals to maintain or advance their position within the gang.
Hamilton, 26, of Detroit, previously pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death.
As part of the underlying racketeering activity, Hamilton took responsibility for the Aug. 8, 2011, homicide of Kionte Atkins during a drive-by shooting and being involved in the distribution of marijuana as part of his membership with the Rollin 60s Crips.
Hamilton was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Hamilton’s second-in-command, Darriyon Mills, 22, of Detroit, was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Mills previously pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and use and carry of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Mills committed armed robberies, carjackings and attempted multiple murders, officials said. He also trafficked drugs for the gang and in this way funded the Rollin 60s.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that we will not tolerate the senseless violence committed by criminal gangs,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Paul Vanderplow. “ATF stands committed to working with our law enforcement partners to end the gang violence that plagues our neighborhoods. Every citizen has the right to feel safe in their neighborhoods.”