110 Gang Member Sentenced to 12.5 Years in Prison

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kemnorris Kinsey, age 33, of Syracuse, was sentenced today to serve 150 months in federal prison for violating the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), announced Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon, Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner.  Senior United State District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. also ordered Kinsey to serve three years of supervised release following his term of incarceration.

In imposing sentence, Senior United State District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr., found that Kinsey was personally involved in drug trafficking, gun possession, and at least one shooting, on behalf of the gang.

Kinsey was one of fourteen defendants charged in the case.  All of the defendants have either pleaded guilty or been convicted following trial.  Previously sentenced 110 Gang RICO defendants in this case include:

• Anthony Hopper was sentenced to 385 months in prison, followed by a 5-year term of supervised release;
• Damani Prince was sentenced to 78 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Rashawn Wynn was sentenced to 92 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Davon Sullivan was sentenced to 68 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Qualik Vaughn was sentenced to 68 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Jason Lebron was sentenced to 92 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Javon Peterson was sentenced to 98 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Daquan Dowdell was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release;
• Terry Linen was sentenced to 110 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release; and
• Deshawnte Waller was sentenced to 80 months in prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Syracuse Police Department, and the Gang Violence Task Force, which consists of members of the Syracuse Police, the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the New York State Police, the New York State Department of Corrections, the New York State Attorney General, and the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicolas Commandeur and Kristen Grabowski

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.