Grimy Times has learned that a leader of the Vice Lords street gang pleaded guilty for his role in the May 7, 2015, shooting of four members of a family with an AK-47 in Detroit.
Burney Everett, aka Tank, 28, of Detroit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and one count of use and carry of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 8, 2017.
According to admissions made in connection with Everett’s plea, the Vice Lords is a national gang engaged in a variety of crimes and the gang’s leaders are located in both Chicago and Detroit. The gang is broken down into various “sets,” “decks,” or “branches,” including the Detroit-based Traveling Vice Lords (TVL).
Everett admitted that in May 2015, he directed other members of the TVL to search for two brothers who had left or attempted to leave the gang in order to harm them. Everett further admitted that on May 7, 2015, at his direction, members of the TVL traveled in multiple cars to the intended victims’ house. After a brief confrontation with the brothers’ family members, Vice Lords member Antonio Clark admitted in connection with his own plea that he fired an AK-47 23 times, hitting the brothers, their mother and a 15-year-old sister. All of the victims survived the shooting.
Eight other members and leaders of the TVL have pleaded guilty to charges related to the shooting, six of whom have been sentenced: Antonio Clark was sentenced to 240 months in prison; Aramis Wilson was sentenced to 150 months in prison; Tyrone Price was sentenced to 140 months in prison; Dion Robinson was sentenced to 120 months in prison; Jonathan Kinchen was sentenced to 120 months in prison; and Kojuan Lee was sentenced to 97 months in prison.
The charges and convictions related to the May 7, 2015, shooting are just one component of the federal government’s prosecution of the Vice Lords street gang, which has led to the arrests and convictions of dozens of Vice Lords leaders and members over the last few years. In two trials during March and May 2015, juries convicted eight leaders and members of the Phantom Outlaw Motorcycle Club, many of whom were also leaders and members of the Vice Lords, for various crimes, including a mass-murder plot against a rival organization and the shooting of a member of another rival organization.
Burney Everett, a Detroit native, will face sentencing on Feb. 8, 2017, for his role in the gang-related shooting. The case is a result of the Detroit One Initiative, a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies to combat gang violence in Detroit.
Defendant: Burney Everett (aka Tank)
Criminal Charges: Two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and one count of use and carry of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence
City and State: Detroit, Michigan
Exact Date: May 7, 2015
Sentence: Prison time, pending sentencing on Feb. 8, 2017
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- Ronnie Edward Duke, Forcibly Assaulting a Federal Prosecutor, Michigan 2014 · Michigan
- Eric Michael Verwiebe, Assault on a Federal Officer with a Dangerous Weapon, Michigan 2015 · Michigan
- Mark E. Woodall, Jr., Discharging Firearm in Carjacking, Michigan 2014 · Michigan
- Justin Ryan Wykoff, Domestic Violence Pattern, Michigan 2023 · Michigan
Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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