Three high-ranking leaders of a gang connected to the United Blood Nation, also known as the Bloods, were convicted of racketeering conspiracy charges Thursday, according to a statement released by the Department of Justice.
Pedro Gutierrez, 45, James Baxton, 44, and Cynthia Young, 42, all of Raleigh, were convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Charlotte following a two-week trial.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gutierrez was the “Godfather” or “Chairman” of the Nine Trey Gangsters, a local subset of the Bloods. The DOJ said with the help of Baxton, Gutierrez conducted gang business while incarcerated in New York.
The DOJ also said trial evidence established that Gutierrez ordered a gang war in North Carolina in 2011 that resulted in the lockdown of five state prisons for six months and numerous inmate injuries.
According to the DOJ, Gilmore trafficked cocaine and was a local high-ranking officer and informant for Gutierrez while he was in prison.
In addition to the three gang leaders convicted Thursday, 35 other defendants – and suspected gang members – have also pleaded guilty in this case.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Andrew Murray said the conviction was a step in the DOJ’s effort to “curb gang violence and devastate gang networks in Western North Carolina.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, in partnership with CMPD and other local law enforcement.
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