New charges were filed yesterday in the prosecution of the
northwest Detroit street gang Young and Scantless (YNS).
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the
Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Schneider of
the Eastern District of Michigan; Special Agent in Charge James Dier of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Detroit Field
Division; and Police Chief James E. Craig of Detroit made the announcement.
The second superseding indictment charges George Eubanks,
30, of Detroit, and James Bowens, 37, of Detroit with taking part in the YNS
racketeering enterprise. The charges describe YNS as one of the most dangerous
in the city of Detroit, known for its ruthless reputation and violent acts
including seeking to intimidate, injure and kill rival drug dealers to
eliminate competition; attempting to instill fear in the community in order to
discourage cooperation with police and witnesses from reporting YNS-related
crime; and posting numerous intimidating photographs and videos to social
media.
Five YNS members, including alleged leader Edward Tavorn,
31, of Detroit, were previously charged with a variety of crimes including a
murder, robberies that turned into murders, shootings, a home invasion, arson,
and narcotics distribution.
The latest indictment also charges Tavorn, Eubanks and
Bowens with a narcotics conspiracy in which Eubanks and Bowens agreed to sell
drugs in West Virginia on Tavorn’s behalf while Tavorn was incarcerated on
pending charges. The indictment alleges
that in furtherance of the plot, Eubanks and Bowens possessed firearms; Bowens
kidnapped and fired gunshots at a victim to force the victim to rent a vehicle
for gang members to use to transport narcotics to West Virginia; and Eubanks
and Bowens possessed with intent to distribute approximately 550 grams of
cocaine base.
The charges are the result of the Detroit One initiative, a
collaborative effort between law enforcement and the community to reduce
violent crime in Detroit.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and
the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt in a court of law.
This case is being investigated by the ATF’s Comprehensive
Violence Reduction Partnership Task Force, consisting of representatives of the
ATF, Detroit Police Department, Michigan State Police and Michigan Department
of Corrections. Assistance has been
provided by the West Virginia State Police.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe of the
Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Christopher Graveline and Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s
Office of the Eastern District of Michigan.
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