Bounty Hunter Bloods Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Acts

NORFOLK, VA—Amaad Jamaal Brantley, 24, of Portsmouth, Va., pled guilty today in Norfolk federal court to participating in a pattern of racketeering activity (RICO) including attempted murder, home invasion, robbery, and conspiring to distribute controlled substances. He also pled guilty to possession of a firearm in a crime of violence.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after Brantley entered his guilty plea before United States Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman. Brantley will be sentenced on November 14, 2011 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

According to court documents, in December 2005, in Portsmouth, Virginia, Brantley and other members of the Bounty Hunter Bloods /Nine Tech Gangsters (BHB/NTG) approached some individuals who were near an automobile and forced them to the ground. The individuals in the automobile drove away, however Brantley and the other gang members shot and hit the automobile, but none of the individuals were injured. On December 8, 2005, Brantley and other BHB/NTG gang members planned a home invasion of an individual who lived in an apartment complex in Chesapeake, Virginia. Brantley and the other gang members mistakenly attempted to enter an apartment that did not belong to their intended target. The female occupant inside screamed for help and several neighbors came to her assistance armed with handguns. A shootout occurred between the gang members and the neighbors as the gang members fled the scene. In June and August of 2006 Brantley and other BHB/NTG gang members executed two additional home invasions on two separate victims, one in Portsmouth and the other in Chesapeake, Virginia. In June 2008, Brantley and other BHB/NTG gang members were at a club in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They spotted an individual who they suspected had killed a Blood gang member in Portsmouth, Virginia. When they left the club to drive back to Portsmouth, Virginia they spotted the same individual driving through the downtown tunnel. Brantley and the others pulled out firearms and fired at this individual as he drove through the tunnel. The individual was able to evade them without injury. Brantley was also involved in the distribution of illegal narcotics.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Portsmouth Police Department and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys William D. Muhr and V. Kathleen Dougherty are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.