U.S. Department of Justice Jeffrey A. Taylor United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Judiciary Center 555 4th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 PRESS RELEASE   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   For Information, Contact Public Affairs Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933 Friday, December 15, 2006

Members of Violent D.C. Drug Gang Sentenced to Life Imprisonment without the Possibility of Release

Washington, D.C. - Three members of a violent local drug gang, Keith B. McGill, 38, James Alfred, 33, and Deon Oliver, 29, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy and violent criminal acts of the gang, which operated in Washington, D.C. in the 1990s, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced. The Court also sentenced Franklin Seegers, 51, to a sentence of 40 years to life for his role in the gang’s criminal activities.

These four defendants were tried before Judge Lamberth between October 2003 and May 2004, for their participation in a multi-defendant conspiracy that extended over a 10-year period, between 1989 and 2000. Ronald Alfred and Kenneth Simmons, also convicted in this same trial, face life imprisonment when they are sentenced; Kenneth Simmons will be sentenced on January 4, 2007, and no date has been set for Ronald Alfred. Kevin Gray and Rodney Moore, the leaders of the gang, and four others were tried in 2002 and have already been sentenced to life imprisonment. Larry Wilkerson, who was tried separately and convicted in September 2004, also faces life imprisonment when he is sentenced, which is expected to take place in 2007.

The investigation of this conspiracy was led by the joint FBI/MPD “Safe Streets Task Force,” a group of investigators which has brought a number of organized D.C. street gangs to justice in recent years. In November of 2000, a federal grand jury sitting in Washington, D.C. returned a 158-count indictment, charging the defendants with operating a narcotics conspiracy and forming a racketeering enterprise. Members of the gang were also charged in the indictment with 31 separate homicides.

The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that the men sentenced today operated a long-running, successful drug distribution operation in all four quadrants of Washington, D.C. For over 10 years, they made substantial profits selling cocaine, heroin, and marijuana to wholesale and retail purchasers. Each of these four defendants had substantial personal involvement in the drug business of the organization as well as its violence.

The defendants enforced their drug distribution business with ruthless, extreme violence. The evidence at trial showed that the organization of which these defendants were members evolved from one which committed acts of violence to curry favor with drug suppliers to one so successful in the business of killing that it was sought out by others who wanted rivals eliminated. The juries at three separate trials have found this gang criminally responsible for 28 murders, including murders done to support their drug business, murders intended to prevent cooperation with law enforcement, murders for hire committed strictly for financial gain, and ego-driven murders committed to enhance the notoriety of the organization.

All four defendants sentenced today were convicted at trial on Count One for their participation in the narcotics conspiracy and on Count Three for their participation in the conspiracy to commit racketeering (RICO conspiracy). James Alfred was also convicted of federal and D.C. Code murder charges for his involvement in the murder of Joseph Thomas on February 27, 1996. Deon Oliver was convicted of federal and D.C. Code murder charges for his participation in two murders – the June 30, 1997, murder of Richard Simmons, and the June 2, 1999, murder of Willie Floyd. Keith McGill was convicted of federal and D.C. Code charges relating to the attempted murder on December 15, 1999, of a witness who was targeted because he was cooperating with investigators in the case against these defendants. The witness has been left paralyzed and is in a wheelchair because of his injuries. Finally, Franklin Seegers was convicted of federal and D.C. Code charges for the November 24, 1996, attempted murder of Lincoln Hunter; he was charged with the murder on that same date of Diane Luther, but the jury could not reach a verdict on charges related to that murder.

In announcing today’s sentences, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the efforts of the members of the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force for their investigation and specifically commended FBI Special Agents Dan Sparks, Kyle Fulmer, Jay Burton, Kevin Ashby, and Rob Lockhart; Metropolitan Police Detectives Konstantinos Giannakoulias, Thomas Webb, Arthur Reed, Richard Watkins, and Barbara Lyles; and MPD Officers Robert Cephas, Anthony Moye, Durriyyah Habeebullah; Joseph Cabillo, Joseph Anderson, Grant Greenwalt, and James Holder, for their tireless efforts during the investigation and trial. He also recognized the efforts of U.S. Attorney’s Office Paralegals Colette Pumphrey, Victoria Ashton, Deborah Mayes, Katrice Mueller, and Thomasenia Manson, and Victim Witness Advocates Heather Cartwright and Yvonne Bryant. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Glenn Kirschner, Arvind Lal, and Florence Pan, who tried this case; as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Jeffress, Rachel Lieber, and Michael Brittin, and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy J. Heaphy and Matthew G. Olsen, who participated in the investigation and other trials in this case.