Two Atlanta men were among three high-ranking Gangster Disciples gang members convicted Tuesday of participating in a string of crimes, including a triple homicide in Macon, authorities said.
Lewis Mobley, 42, and Vertuies Wall, 43, both of Atlanta, were convicted of racketeering and murder among other charges, U.S. Attorney Bjay Pak said in a news release. A third man, 30-year-old Lawrence Grice of Houston, Texas, was also found guilty Tuesday in the same racketeering scheme.
As part of the investigation, 27 defendants have pleaded guilty, five were convicted in a separate trial and three more are awaiting trial, the release said.
The three men used the national gang’s structure to carry out multiple violent crimes, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, bank and wire fraud, drug trafficking and extortion, prosecutors said.
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A Macon triple homicide was among the murders brought up in court, the release said. Three people were killed and another three were wounded when Wall and his fellow gang members started a gunfight, authorities said.
Mobley was also found guilty of shooting a teenager twice at point-blank range after the teen allegedly “disrespected the gang ... while shouting a slogan and wearing the color associated with a rival gang,” the release said.
In a third incident, a high-ranking Gangster Disciple member asked the gang’s “national chief enforcer” to travel across the country to kill a witness, prosecutors said. The witness was supposed to testify against another Gangster Disciple member on drug charges before being shot and killed in her home.
Mobley held a position within the gang’s security and enforcement arm, presiding over the “HATE committee” that was responsible for committing murders, shootings and other violent acts, the release said. Wall was the “First C,” or local gang leader, for the Macon area. Grice also had a leadership position in the Gangster Disciples in parts of Texas, including Houston.
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Mobley’s convictions include counts of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), murder, drug conspiracy, attempted murder, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and firearm possession charges, the release said. Wall was found guilty of RICO conspiracy and murder, while Grice was convicted of RICO conspiracy and drug conspiracy “regarding more than five kilograms of cocaine.”
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