Re-posted by Nicholas Stix
4 Gang Members Charged in Kevin Quick Slaying
May 16, 2014Updated: May 30, 2014
NBC29
Federal indictments came down Friday for the murder of Waynesboro Police Reserve Captain Kevin Quick. In those indictments, prosecutors laid out what they believe happened to Quick.
Authorities working on the case held a press conference Friday at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlottesville where they explained how Quick’s death is tied to an extensive network of organized crime in central Virginia.
The indictments show that four people - Daniel Mathis, Shantai Shelton, Mersadies Shelton, and Travis Bell - are charged with the Quick’s murder.
Five others - Anthony White, Gert Wright III, Anthony Stokes, Leslie Casterlow, and Devante Bell - are also charged in relation to the case.
Up until now, investigators had been tight-lipped about the details of Quick’s case, but indictments detail how the Quick case is tied to gang-related violence and drug offenses all across central Virginia.
The nine suspects have now been indicted in relation to the Quick case. Eight of them are also tied to convenience store robberies, home invasions, drug distribution, and what investigators describe as “years of lawlessness.”
U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy says the suspects, from all over Virginia, were bound together by an involvement with the 99 Goon Syndikate, which is affiliated with the Bloods gang.
"We have among us members of criminal violent street gangs. It is here, and it's something to which we must pay attention,” said Heaphy.
Heaphy says the group car-jacked Quick earlier this year and drove around in his 4Runner, all the while using him to try to get cash from ATMs, before dumping his body in a remote part of Goochland County.
"And the theory of that count is that Officer Quick was killed, in part, because he had been the victim of a car-jacking and could potentially communicate to law enforcement about that offense,” said Heaphy.
This week, a federal grand jury indicted Mathis, Shantai and Mersadies Shelton, and Travis Bell on murder charges. White, Wright, Stokes, and Devante Bell were also indicted. They are tied to a variety of other crimes across Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna and other counties. Casterlow is the only one facing a single charge - obstruction of justice.
Louisa County Commonwealth's Attorney Rusty McGuire says law enforcement at all levels have come together and now need the community to accept and move forward with addressing the insidious issue of gangs.
"No one agency can address this problem alone. It is a collaborative approach. It's going to take a community approach to address this problem,” said. McGuire.
Prosecutors did finally confirm Friday that quick died of a gunshot wound, but family members have told us he was also beaten and shot in the head. If convicted, the four individuals charged with murder could face the death penalty.
A trial has been scheduled for July 23, but Heaphy says that is likely to be continued.
Editor's note: A mugshot was not availabe [sic] for Devante Bell.
Department of Justice, United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy Western District of Virginia Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – A Federal Grand Jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville has returned an indictment charging eight individuals with federal racketeering, narcotics, robbery, kidnapping and murder charges related to a string of violent episodes across Central Virginia that included the alleged kidnapping and murder of Waynesboro Reserve Police Captain Kevin Quick. A ninth defendant has been charged federally with obstruction of justice.
In an indictment returned under seal on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 and unsealed this morning following the defendants’ initial court appearances, the grand jury has charged the following:
Daniel Lamont Mathis, 18, of Charlottesville, Va., Shantai Monique Shelton, 24, of Charlottesville, Va., Mersadies Lachelle Shelton, 20, of Charlottesville, Va., Travis Leon Bell, 23, of Front Royal, Va., Anthony Leon White, 22, of Louisa, Va., Gert Arthur Lee Wright, III, 23, of Manassas, Va., Anthony Darnell Stokes, 32, of Manassas, Va., Devante O’Brian Bell, 20, of Louisa, Va., and Leslie Hope Casterlow, 50, of Manassas, Va.
According to the indictment, those charged today are either members or associates of the “99 Goonz Syndikate” set of the Bloods criminal street gang. The indictment alleges that members of this gang participated in a pattern of racketeering from December 2012-April 2014 that included violent armed robberies, the kidnapping and murder of Kevin Quick, the sale of narcotics and the obstruction of justice after that incident.
Mathis, Shantai Shelton, Mersadies Shelton, Travis Bell, Anthony White and Devante Bell are charged with conducting several armed robberies of both commercial businesses and individuals in Louisa, Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Fluvanna County and Gordonsville. It is alleged that this series of robberies were conducted using firearms and were conducted to financially benefit the collective group.
Anthony Stokes, Gert Wright and Leslie Casterlow are charged with obstructing justice by assisting other members of the conspiracy destroy evidence and elude apprehension following the kidnapping and murder of Kevin Quick.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Virginia State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Albemarle County Police Department, the Charlottesville City Police Department, the Louisa County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Waynesboro Police Department, the Henrico County Police Department, the Gordonsville Police Department, the Goochland County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Fluvanna County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Prince William County Police Department.
United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy, Assistant United States Attorney Ronald M. Huber and Special Assistant United States Attorney and Louisa County Commonwealth’s Attorney Russell E. McGuire will prosecute the case for the United States.
An indictment is only a charge and all defendants are entitled to a fair and speedy trial and are considered innocent until and if they are proven guilty.
99 Goonz. I guess a name was never more appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThe man was not only killed, he was kidnapped. I might think on purpose too and not just incidentally so. Much more egregious a charge.
ReplyDelete