Detroit Gang Leader Convicted for Planning Armed Robbery by Gang Members

A leader of a street gang that operated on the east side of Detroit was found guilty today by a federal jury of aiding and abetting an armed robbery.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Agent in Charge Steven Bogdalek of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Detroit made the announcement.

Christopher LaJuan Tibbs, 39, was convicted after a three-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman.

The evidence at trial established that Tibbs, also known as Chief Fatah, was the leader of the Michigan branch of the Mafia Insane Vice Lords – a violent street gang that operated primarily on the east side of Detroit.   The Mafia Insane Vice Lords was a local faction of the national Vice Lord gang that originated in Chicago.   Tibbs helped plan an armed robbery of a Little Caesars restaurant in Redford, Michigan, in September 2013.   Tibbs sent subordinate members of the gang to commit the crime and took a majority of the proceeds from the robbery.

The case was investigated by ATF, with assistance from the Redford, Michigan, Police Department, the Detroit Police Department, and the Chicago Police Department.   The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Joseph Wheatley of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant United States Attorney Louis Gabel of the Eastern District of Michigan.