Sterling Rivers, Crack Cocaine Conspiracy, Tennessee 2013
A federal jury in Tennessee has convicted Sterling Rivers, 26, also known as 'little Real,' of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of crack cocaine and cocaine as part of his involvement in the Unknown Vice Lords street gang.
The verdict was announced by David Rivera, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Rivers was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and cocaine, but the jury was unable to reach a decision on a count related to possessing a firearm during a drug crime, which will be retried in November 2013.
Rivers was indicted in September 2011 alongside 16 other individuals following a nearly two-year investigation into a national street gang operating in Wilson and Putnam County, Tennessee, and beyond. Rivers fled following his indictment and was arrested in October 2011 as a fugitive in Texas.
Rivers faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is the last defendant to be tried in this case. Fifteen co-defendants have pleaded guilty, and Monique 'Money' Smith was tried and convicted in October 2012 and sentenced to life, plus five years in prison.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Lebanon Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Braden H. Boucek and Brent Hannafan.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and law enforcement partners are committed to combating criminal street gangs in the Middle Tennessee area. This verdict sends a clear and convincing message that violent gang activity in this district will be met with the necessary resources required to eliminate such activity and to hold those accountable who choose to inflict violence upon our communities.
Rivers represented himself at trial, which lasted two weeks. Proof at trial established that Rivers was engaged in organizing the Vice Lords Gang throughout the state of Tennessee and had been involved in an array of violent crime, including the robbery of another drug dealer and the shooting of another individual.
Defendant: Sterling Rivers a/k/a 'little Real'
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine and Cocaine
City and State: Lebanon, Tennessee
Exact Date: September 2011 (indictment), October 2011 (arrest), November 2013 (retrial)
Sentence or Outcome: Convicted, life in prison
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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