CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Six members from the feared United Blood Nation gang were sentenced Monday to prison in relation to a 2014 double-murder and 2013 murder.
The gang members were sentenced to time ranging from 13 years to life in prison.
The six gang members were 25-year-old Rahkeem Lee McDonald, 24-year-old David Lee Fudge, 38-year-old Ibn Rashaan Kornegay, 23-year-old Daquan Lamar Everrett, 33-year-old Centrilla Shardon Leach and 23-year-old Nehemijel Maurice Houston.
Two other members, Jamell Cureton and Malcolm Jarrel Hartley, had been sentenced in November to life in prison in connection to the 2014 double-murder of Douglas and Deborah London inside their Lake Wylie home.
In Monday's sentencing, each of the six members plead guilty and was charged with RICO conspiracy. RICO Conspiracy, or the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, is a federal law designed to combat organized crime in the United States.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, on May 25, 2014, Cureton, Adoma and Fudge robbed The Mattress Warehouse in Pineville, owner by the London's. In the months that followed, Cureton, a high-ranking "5Star General" within the gang, communicated with Hartley and other gang members on planning the murders of Douglas and Deborah London.
"According to court records, Cureton and other gang members discussed that Douglas London was the only eye-witness who could identify Cureton and therefore needed to be eliminated," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Authorities said the gang's leadership "authorized" Hartley to proceed with the murders and on October 23, 2014, Johnson drove Hartley to South Carolina where Hartley shot and killed the couple in their home.
Officials said Cureton later explained in a letter sent from prison that he ordered the murder of Douglas London because he was going to testify against him in court and described Deborah's murder as "collateral damage."
Four more defendants who were previously convicted at trial or have pleaded guilty in connection with the case are currently awaiting sentencing, including Akheem Tahja McDonald who along with Adoma were convicted of one count of murder and other charges in relation to the 2013 death of Kwamne Clyburn.
Here is the full list of names and charges:
- Rahkeem Lee McDonald, 25, sentenced to serve life in prison, following his guilty plea to RICO conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering charges in connection to the Londons' murder.
- David Lee Fudge, 24, sentenced to serve 26 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Fudge plead guilty to RICO conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering for the Londons' murder and Hobbs Act robbery for his role in the robbery of the Pineville-area mattress store owner by the couple.
- Ibn Rashaan Kornegay, 38, sentenced to serve 23 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Plead guilty to RICO conspiracy.
- Nehemijel Maurice Houston, 23, sentenced to serve 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Plead guilty to RICO conspiracy.
- Daquan Lamar Everett, 23, sentenced to serve 13 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Plead guilty to RICO conspiracy.
- Contrilia Shardon Leach, 33, sentenced to serve 13 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Plead guilty to RICO conspiracy.
