Bloods member pleads guilty
Published 10:17 pm Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The last of a group of gang members to be federally indicted in April for operating in Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth pled guilty to felony counts on Tuesday and could face up to life in prison.
James Martin “Bloody 45” Harris, 22, of Portsmouth, pled guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, according to U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride.
Court documents outline Harris’ involvement in a variety of criminal activities as a member of the Bounty Hunter Bloods or Nine Tech Gangsters.
MacBride stated in a press release announcing Harris’ plea that Harris was involved in the 2006 murder of Darius Powell, whom two of Harris’ co-conspirators beat to death with a sawed-off shotgun and a handgun on the suspicion Powell had robbed a fellow gang member.
Additionally, Harris dealt illegal drugs, McBride said.
Harris’ guilty plea brings to six the number of convictions springing from an April police sweep in retaliation to gang activity in the three cities, spurred by the murder of Powell.
At the time of the arrests, police said the defendants were alleged to be top generals, leaders and gang members of the Bounty Hunter Bloods and the Nine Tech Gangsters, and had been operating in Portsmouth, Suffolk and Chesapeake neighborhoods since the early 2000s.
Danyell Jamar White, 21, and Cameron “Cam” Mychal Evans, 21, both of Suffolk, were among eight suspects “charged with terrorizing neighborhoods in Portsmouth, Suffolk and Chesapeake,” U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride stated in an announcement of the indictments.
Two of those defendants, including Evans of Suffolk, pleaded guilty in May to racketeering-related activities. Two others, both of Portsmouth, pled guilty in July to racketeering and firearms charges. White awaits trial on 12 counts, including kidnapping and assault.
Jamel Spaights, 28, of Portsmouth, also known as “Mel” or “Bloody Bastard,” pleaded guilty in June to federal racketeering and attempted murder charges.