EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal jury convicted four leaders of the Gangster Disciples on Tuesday for their participation in a years-long interstate racketeering conspiracy involving drug trafficking, witness tampering, and multiple murders.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the four defendants were members of the Gangster Disciples, a gang with a decades-long history of lawlessness and violence. The Gangster Disciples have a presence throughout the United States, including in state and federal prisons.
The gang employs a structured hierarchy, with leadership positions such as national “Board Members” and state “Governors.” As part of their efforts to maintain control of the gang, the defendants murdered two other members who opposed their regime.
On May 18, 2018, Warren Griffin, aka GG, aka Big Head, 53, of Glenwood, Illinois, drove to the south side of Chicago with fellow Gangster Disciples Board Member Anthony Dobbins to murder a former powerful Board Member (Victim-1), because he opposed their status as Board Members in the gang. Griffin lured Victim-1, and Dobbins came up behind Victim-1 and shot him three times in the back and once in the face. On April 28, 2018, Sean Clemon, aka Pops, 52, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Dominique Maxwell, aka D-Mac, aka Monster, 30, also of Cape Girardeau, on orders from Frank Smith, aka Little Frank, aka Red Beard, 49, of Naperville, Illinois, fatally shot another victim (Victim-2) and injured two other men in Bridgeton, Missouri. The shooting was part of a leadership dispute in which Board Members Smith and Griffin sought to remove another Gangster Disciple member from his position as Governor of Missouri.
Smith texted “Mike Tyson Punch Out” to Maxwell prior the shooting, which was an order to commit “extreme violence,” including murder. Both Clemon and Maxwell were promoted to leadership positions within the gang for committing this murder. The defendants’ other acts of violence included a nightclub stabbing in East St. Louis, Illinois, and a nonfatal shooting in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Gangster Disciples members also engaged in various acts of drug trafficking, including a scheme to smuggle the synthetic drug “K2” into Missouri state prisons.
All four defendants were convicted of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering, and face a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The sentencing dates have not yet been set. Smith, Maxwell, and Clemon were also convicted of racketeering conspiracy, as well as firearms offenses related to the murder of Victim-2. Griffin was also convicted of racketeering conspiracy, as well as firearms offenses related to the murder of Victim-1. Dobbins pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy on Jan. 17.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe for the Southern District of Illinois made the announcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Cape Girardeau Field Office; Federal Bureau of Prisons; FBI; DEA; Missouri Department of Corrections; Illinois State Police; Chicago Police Department; Bridgeton Police Department; Cape Girardeau Police Department; Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis; and O’Fallon (IL) Police Department investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Jeremy Franker, Alexander Gottfried, and Christopher Usher of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Summers for the Southern District of Illinois provided substantial assistance.
