Wilmington Bloods Member Hines Gets 7 Years for Gun Crime

TYKE’EKE MONTE HINES, 19, of Wilmington, North Carolina, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison after being convicted of providing a firearm to a convicted felon, a key link in the violent chain of the Nine Trey Gangsters — a feared subset of the United Blood Nation (UBN) operating in eastern North Carolina.

The sentencing, handed down by Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, in Raleigh, marks another blow to the Wilmington-based gang, which has long terrorized local communities with drug distribution, extortion, and armed violence. Hines’s role became clear during a sweeping federal investigation that exposed a planned execution between rival UBN factions in the summer of 2016.

Wiretaps authorized under federal Title III surveillance captured gang leader KEJUAN SMITH coordinating with subordinates, including HINES, to amass weapons ahead of a retaliatory hit on a rival Goldsboro gang leader. On August 4, 2016, law enforcement raided a Wilmington stash house where they seized an arsenal: multiple handguns — several stolen — assault rifles, shotguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a military-grade ballistic vest.

HINES was directly tied to the stockpiling of firearms, part of a broader conspiracy that saw SMITH and other high-ranking members plan violence with chilling precision. The raid thwarted what could have been a bloodbath, according to FBI officials, and dismantled a critical node in the gang’s operational network.

Multiple co-defendants have already been sentenced in the same federal prosecution. KEJUAN TIZOM SHABAZZ SMITH received 327 months for heroin distribution and firearms offenses. KASHIF ARDE RHODES and THEODORE PIERCE each got 102 months for firearm and drug crimes. KHALIL DJOUR TRUESDALE was sentenced to 78 months, while THEODORE HARDY received 84 months for heroin distribution.

“This prosecution is an example of how we will combat violent gang members and hold them accountable,” said Robin Pendergraft, Criminal Chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. FBI Special Agent in Charge John Strong added, “This investigation is an outstanding example of what federal, state, and local law enforcement can accomplish when we combine resources to address a threat.”