Dump Squad, Video Edward Demond Davis, 24, known as "Cabbage," is accused of two killings.
"Dump Squad," the "Bang Gang" or the "Slump Mobb" — is affliated with the national Bloods gang, prosectors said in announcing indictments Friday. In addition to the homicides, 36 charges were brought against 10 people who investigators say were members of the gang and involved in a criminal racketeering enterprise. An 11th person — Tina Stephanie Whalen — was indicted as an accessory after the fact to murder.The federal grand jury indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court marked the culmination of a multi-agency investigation after a spike in homicides in southeastern Newport News in the summer of 2007.U.S. attorney, local authorities announce gang indictments Video Edward Demond Davis, 24, known as "Cabbage," is accused of two killings. The indictment says he killed 22-year-old Terrell Williams of Hampton — found shot to death in a car on 16th Street near the Ridley Circle public housing complex — just before 4:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 2006.Davis is also accused of the killing of Tiarra Campbell, 22, whose burned body was found in the living room of her Ridley Circle apartment complex Jan. 17, 2007.Investigators say another man — Martin Jay Manley, 21 — shot Tony Vaughan dead outside the Atmosphere nightclub on Shell Road in Hampton on Dec. 24, 2007. Manley was arrested by Hampton police and charged with the killing the next day.The gang is linked to a reign of terror centered on the Ridley Circle, Harbor Homes and Dickerson Court areas of southeast Newport News from 2001 on, prosecutors say.
During a news conference at Newport News police headquarters Friday, acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente released details about the charges. They include murders, attempted murders, robberies, assaults, arson, witness intimidation, narcotics distribution and weapons violations.
Boente said the criminal organization controlled the supply of drugs and dealt ruthlessly with rival gangs and people who stood in its way.
"To protect the enterprise," gang members attempted to set fire to the Newport News police High Impact Patrol Station in the Harbor Homes apartment complex last year, according to the indictment.
In an operation Thursday — involving FBI agents, the Newport News and Hampton police departments, and other Peninsula police departments — a half-dozen people were picked up. Others were already in custody."This indictment reflects the commitment of our agencies in disrupting and dismantling criminal gang enterprises, using the maximum power of the criminal justice system," Hampton Police Chief Chuck Jordan said.Rickey Irving Rice, 26, is still wanted on charges including attempted murder and maiming in aid of racketeering.The others arrested are Latroy Antonio Urquhart, 25; Cordero Bernard Ellis, 21; Twan Dominque Bugg, 22; Steven Anthony Davis, 25; Samuel Leslie Bates III, 27; Ty Ramon Davis, 24; Travis Tyrell Horton, 20; and Tina Stephanie Whalen, 22.The indictment said that the "Dump Squad" identified itself by the color red, hand signs and tattoos and that members would boast about their enterprise in rap songs and postings on the Internet.Boente said the crimes caused fear in the communities. "We hope these prosecutions will give them hope for more secure neighborhoods in the future," he said.Newport News Police Chief James Fox said his department started a big operation against the gang after a spate of homicides in the city in the summer of 2007. The killings led to a shake-up in the department's response to the gang threat in the city."The message going out to gang members out there is that we are not going to tolerate violence," Fox said. "We will do what we have to do to dismantle gangs. We will cut you off at the top and the bottom. We are coming after you."
By using the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, gang suspects face tougher sentences. Davis and Manley could face the death penalty if convicted.
