Inmates within the Georgia Department of Corrections are once again at the center of an indictment alleging racketeering, murder, drug trafficking, fraud, and other crimes.
An eight-count indictment was unsealed this week in the Southern District of Georgia charging 30 defendants – all alleged Sex Money Murder (SMM) gang members and associates – with crimes including racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and related firearm and drug trafficking crimes.
This is not the first time inmates within the Georgia Department of Corrections have found themselves at the center of racketeering indictments. A pending death penalty case involving a Smith State Prison and three three murders joins a similar federal case as well as a case that spanned statewide involving a criminal enterprise inside and outside Georgia prisons.
In this case, court documents allege SMM members and associates “engaged in extreme violence to retaliate against fellow members for perceived violations of gang rules. For example, SMM members killed one member who wanted to leave the gang and attempted to kill another by repeatedly stabbing him for alleged homosexual activities while in jail. SMM members profited from trafficking large amounts of deadly drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, throughout the Savannah metropolitan area. They also made money participating in sophisticated fraud schemes targeting federal COVID-19 relief and unemployment benefit programs that resulted in intended losses of over $850,000.”
From the Department of Justice press release Thursday:
According to court documents, on Feb. 24, 2020, Byron Hopkins and other SMM members intercepted a young victim a few hours after he stepped off his school bus. They drove him to a rural residential neighborhood where Hopkins shot him to death. The victim had reportedly expressed a desire to leave the gang after accusing Hopkins of having sexual relations with a minor female who became pregnant. To lure the victim, his, “big brother” in the gang – a person he trusted – sent him a text message claiming there was an important gang meeting he needed to attend. Believing this, the victim willingly got into the vehicle, unaware he was being taken to the site of his execution. This is just one example of SMM’s deadly violence against a member that questioned authority or violated gang rules.
According to court documents and statements made in court, SMM is a subset of The Bloods gang, which originated in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. The SMM subset has spread from the Bronx and New York to areas across the East Coast, including Georgia, where it operates inside and outside prisons and jails. The indictment alleges an extensive criminal enterprise in which SMM members, including inmates within the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC), orchestrated numerous crimes, including murders, attempted murders, attempted robberies, drug trafficking within and outside of GDOC facilities, and wire and bank fraud. Seven of the defendants allegedly committed or ordered the charged crimes from prison.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not list the names of all thirty individuals indicted.
“This indictment represents a significant step forward in our continued efforts to dismantle violent criminal enterprises operating within Georgia communities and correctional facilities,” said Director Chris Hosey of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. “The GBI remains committed to working alongside our federal, state, and local partners to hold gang members accountable and protect the safety and wellbeing of all Georgians.”
Agencies that assisted with the investigation:
- FBI
- ATF
- US Department of Labor
- U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division
- GBI
- GDC
Assisting with the investigation include officials from:
- USPS
- Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Georgia Department of Community Supervision
- Georgia State Patrol, Hinesville Police Department
- Liberty County Sheriff’s Office
- Dodge County Sheriff’s Office
- Chatham County Police Department
- Chatham Couty Counternarcotics Team
- Savannah Police Department
- McRae-Helena Police Department
- DeKalb Police Department
- Brunswick Police Department
- Richmond Hill Police Department
