LISTEN: The newly unsealed indictment spans a wide range of violent, financial, and drug-related crimes. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.
Federal prosecutors in Savannah unsealed an eight-count indictment Thursday charging 30 alleged members and associates of the "Sex Money Murder" gang with crimes ranging from racketeering and murder to drug trafficking and fraud.
The indictment, filed last week in Savannah federal court, targets what officials describe as a violent criminal enterprise operating throughout metro Savannah.
"Today is a great day for Coastal Georgia and, in fact, the entire Southeast region of the country," FBI Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Ozden said at a Thursday news conference in Savannah at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia.
An East Coast offshoot of the California-based Bloods street gang, Sex Money Murder has "for many years terrorized our state," Ozden said, adding that its leadership, "just like a large business, held board meetings and conference calls" to organize its operations.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kalatka said that the defendants "preyed on our communities with reckless disregard for human life," engaging in crimes "within and outside the walls of prisons."
As of Friday morning, court records showed that five defendants had made initial court appearances Thursday, during which they entered not guilty pleas, including Timeca Parker Bishop, Brandon Gilbert, Byron Hopkins, Leroy Jones, and Rekora Thompson.
Initial court appearances for several other defendants have been scheduled for May and June.
Prosecutors allege the gang used extreme violence to maintain internal discipline, including the execution-style murder of a 19-year-old member in February 2020 who had expressed a desire to leave the organization.
According to court documents, Byron Hopkins and other gang members allegedly intercepted the young victim shortly after he stepped off his school bus, drove him to a rural residential neighborhood, and shot him to death.
Prosecutors say the victim was lured by a trusted "big brother" in the gang who sent a text message claiming there was an important meeting, with the victim unaware he was being taken to the site of his execution.
The victim was reportedly targeted after accusing Hopkins of having sexual relations with a minor female who became pregnant.
Beyond violent crimes, the gang is accused of operating a sophisticated drug trafficking network throughout the Savannah metropolitan area, distributing methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.
Prosecutors also charge that members ran elaborate fraud schemes targeting federal COVID-19 relief and unemployment benefit programs, resulting in intended losses exceeding $850,000.
Seven of the defendants allegedly directed criminal operations from within Georgia Department of Corrections facilities using contraband cell phones.
Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver said in a statement that the "use of contraband cellphones as a tool to carry out gang activity and other crimes from behind prison walls will not be tolerated."
If convicted, defendants face penalties including up to life imprisonment or death for murder charges, and decades-long sentences for the racketeering, drug conspiracy and fraud charges.
The case results from a multi-agency investigation spanning four years that involved federal, state, and local law enforcement partners as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program.
