DETROIT (WXYZ) — Three members of the Almighty Vice Lords Nation gang, all from metro Detroit, have been charged with drug crimes and were indicted by a federal grand jury, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a release.
Johnnie Ross Jr., 47,of Redford, Rishard Collins, 31, of Detroit, and 39-year-old Keith Span, who is currently an inmate with the Michigan Department of Corrections, were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and suboxone; and use of a communication facility to commit the drug conspiracy offense. Collins was also charged with possession of a firearm.
According to an indictment unsealed in federal court on Wednesday, all three were part of a drug conspiracy which sold drugs in the metro Detroit area as well as within the Michigan Department of Corrections. The indictment said that they smuggled drugs inside the MDOC to Spann, who was serving time for two separate 2016 state convictions involving cocaine possession and marijuana trafficking.
The indictment also alleges that while inside jail, Spann was caught with suboxone and later convicted in a Jackson County court for possession of contraband by an inmate.
“Our office, along with our State and Federal partners, is committed to aggressively prosecuting members of violent street gangs involved in drug trafficking,” Schneider said in a release. “We are especially committed to stopping the flow of drugs into the Michigan prison system, especially when it is fueled by gang members of the Vice Lords, and this case is just one example of our teamwork.”
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Almighty Vice Lords Nation is divided into subgroups that they call branches and decks. Those include: Unknown Vice Lords (UVL), Conservative Vice Lords, (CVL), Traveling Vice Lords (TVL), Renegade Vice Lords (RVL), Insane Vice Lords (IVL), Mafia Insane Vice Lords (MIVL), Imperial Insane Vice Lords (IIVL), Executioner Insane Vice Lords (EIVL), Cicero Insane Vice Lords (CIVL), and 4 Corner Hustler Vice Lords (4CHVL).
The indictment says the three were members of the Vice Lords.
The ATF, MDOC, Michigan State Police, Detroit Police Department and members of the Comprehensive Violence Reduction Partnership helped in the investigation.
The charges carry maximum sentences of 24 years.
