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The verdict follows a two-week trial in front of United States District Judge Thomas A.
Varlan in which all eight defendants were tried together. The defendants face varying terms of
imprisonment of up to life in prison and $10,000,000 in fines. Sentencing hearings for all eight
defendants will be set for early 2022.
The proof presented at trial revealed that seven of the defendants were members of the
Unknown Ghost Vice Lords in Knoxville and another defendant, Demetrius Bibbs, was a
member of the Black P Stone Bloods in Chattanooga. The proof also showed that the members
of the Unknown Ghost Vice Lords distributed kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and
other drugs in the Knoxville and Chattanooga areas.
“This conviction is the result of the vigorous cumulative efforts of the Knoxville Police
Department and its law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to address violent crime head on
and make our community safer. By bringing addictive and deadly drugs into our area, these drug
trafficking organizations are directly responsible for unimaginable tragedy and senseless
violence that fragments families and destabilizes communities. In addition to our Organized
Crime Unit investigators and various law enforcement partners, I want to specifically commend
the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee for their extraordinary work on
this case,” said Eve Thomas, Chief, Knoxville Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys David P. Lewen, Jr. and Brent N. Jones represented the
United States.
This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a
comprehensive national program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the
communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for
everyone. This program provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local,
state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough
sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual
challenges that a specific community faces.
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