Eleven gang members had their 40-count indictment charges read before a federal grand jury in Tennessee. Some of the charges include multiple murders including the murder of a witness, Drug Distribution conspiracies, and crimes that amount to violence as well as drug and firearm offenses. Local, state and federal law enforcers, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, conducted crackdowns in Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky which lead to the arrest of the suspects.
How the gang operates
The eleven gang members are believed to have conducted criminal activities on behalf of the Gangsters Disciples. The Gangsters Disciples were founded in Chicago and are active in many states across the country; this is according to the Justice Department website. The Justice Department states that the gang is highly organized and has leadership at a national level which is responsible for decision-making at all levels of the group's hierarchy. Other subordinate group members are also responsible for the group's activities in some specific regions across the country. The criminal gang mainly recruits new members from local neighborhoods and within jails.
According to information from the United States Department of Justice, the arrested members conspired to enhance, promote and enrich the gang so as to protect and preserve its power, operations, and territory through racketeering activities such as intimidation and threats of violence.
Some criminal activities by the gang
Investigators claim that on January 6, 2012, one of the group's members named Brandon Durell Hardison, a 31-year-old from Madison, Tennessee, murdered one of the gang's associates as well as his girlfriend. Brandon also sought help from other members of the criminal gang for advice on disposing the murder weapon.
Investigators believe that Brandon committed this crime so as to increase and maintain his position within the Gangster Disciples.
Brandon and other members of the gang also attacked a member of a rival gang. This crime was committed on November 3rd, 2012 according to investigators. The attack caused the death of a Bloods gang member at a bar in Clarksville.
Another criminal act was also committed in August 2014 by three members of the group. The three conspired to murder a member of the Vice Lord Gang. Four people were shot in Clarksville, Tennessee during the incident. Another shooting that targeted members of another rival gang was also committed in December 2014 where a Gangster Disciples member shot and attempted to kill two Vice Lords gang members.
