Last Remaining Drug Dealer from Gang Case Sentenced to 400 Months

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins announced that Rashawn Raki Wallace, age 32, of Columbia, was sentenced today to 400 months’ (33.33 years’) imprisonment after being convicted by a federal jury following a two-day trial in April 2008. Wallace was convicted of selling crack cocaine on eight occasions from a residence on Fiske Street in Columbia, South Carolina. United States District Court Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., imposed the prison sentence, which will be followed by eight years of supervised release.

The case arose out of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led Columbia Violent Gang Task Force into the illegal activities of members of the Gangsta Killer Bloods or “GKB,” a set of the United Blood Nation originating from New York. In January 2007, 23 GKB members and others were indicted on federal drug and firearm violations stemming from their involvement in a cocaine, crack, and marijuana distribution conspiracy. Twenty-one of the 23 defendants charged pled guilty, and the remaining two defendants, including Wallace, were found guilty following a trial. All defendants charged in the investigation have now been convicted and sentenced.

Wallace, who has prior state convictions for armed robbery, kidnapping, possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, and unlawful possession of a pistol, was deemed a career offender.

The case was investigated by agents of the Columbia Violent Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents from the FBI, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Police Department, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Stacey D. Haynes and Jane B. Taylor of the Columbia office.