A Gangster Disciples gang member was sentenced today to 360
months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to
participate in a racketeering enterprise.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the
Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U. S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of
the Western District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Gavin of
the FBI’s Memphis Division, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jack Webb of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Memphis Field
Division, made the announcement.
Henry Cooper, aka Big Hen, 37, of Memphis, Tennessee, was
sentenced by U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. of the Western District of
Tennessee. Cooper previously pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.
The Gangster Disciples is a highly organized national gang
active in more than 24 states. The scope
of the Gangster Disciples’ crimes is wide-ranging and consistent throughout its
national operation. The gang protects
its power through threats, intimidation, and violence, including murder,
attempted murder, assault, and obstruction of justice. The Gangster Disciples promotes its
enterprise through member-only activities and provides financial and other
support to members charged with or incarcerated for gang-related offenses or
who are fugitives from law enforcement.
Members and associates of the Gangster Disciples are subject
to a strict code of discipline and are routinely fined, beaten, and even
murdered for failing to follow the gang’s rules. “Enforcers” within the enterprise ensure that
members who violate the strict rules of the enterprise are appropriately
punished.
According to statements made at his sentencing hearing,
Cooper was a Gangster Disciple from 1992 until the time of his arrest in
2016. Furthermore, he was a high-ranking
member of the Gangster Disciples, and at the time of indictment and arrest in
this case served as the Regional Enforcer for the State of Tennessee. As the Regional Enforcer, Cooper was responsible
for enforcement in Tennessee and six other states, including Arkansas,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin. One of Cooper’s responsibilities was to pass
along information from the Chief Enforcer for the Gangster Disciples to
enforcers in these states. Cooper also
oversaw the enforcement of punishments, supervised the criminal activities of
other members, issued orders to commit violent offenses against rivals and
subordinates, and presided over Gangster Disciple meetings where criminal
activity was discussed.
Cooper also participated directly in the activities of the
gang, including acts involving murder, kidnapping, assault, witness
intimidation, narcotics distribution, and weapons trafficking. Cooper’s participation in the criminal activities
of the Gangster Disciples spanned approximately 25 years.
The FBI; ATF; the Memphis Multi-Agency Gang Unit; the
Memphis Police Department; the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; the
Jackson Police Department Gang Enforcement Team; the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation; the Madison County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Department; the 28th
District West Tennessee Drug Task Force; The Tipton County, Tennessee,
Sheriff’s Office; the 26th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office; the
25th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office; the Atascosa County,
Tennessee District Attorney’s Office; and the Shelby County District Attorney
General’s Office investigated this case.
Trial Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Criminal Division’s Organized
Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Beth Boswell of the Western
District of Tennessee and Samuel
Stringfellow of the Northern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.
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