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Press Release

Gangster Disciples leaders sentenced to prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA - Shauntay Craig, a/k/a Shake, and Donald Glass, a/k/a Smurf, both leaders of the national gang, the Gangster Disciples, have been sentenced for racketeering conspiracy involving murder. Glass was also sentenced for firearms crimes.

“Members of the Gangster Disciples left a trail of death and destruction across Georgia and much of the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “The sentence for these two gang leaders sends a resounding message to those who seek to inflict irreparable harm on their communities in furtherance of a violent gang.  It should reassure citizens that we will use every asset we have to abolish gang activity.”

“As leaders of the Gangster Disciples, these defendants terrorized communities across the country by engaging in, and ordering others to engage in, multiple acts of violence, including murder,” said Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “The significant sentences imposed upon defendant Craig for his national leadership role in the gang, and defendant Glass for his creation of an army of teenagers who shot and killed indiscriminately, demonstrate that even the most sophisticated and ruthless gangs are no match for the coordinated efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement.”

“The Gangster Disciples are a ruthless gang that preyed upon our communities for far too long, and Craig and Glass were the driving force behind the devastation the gang caused,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is our goal to dismantle these organized, violent criminal enterprises and we could not do it without the efforts of the FBI led Safe Streets Gang Task Force and its state and local partners.”

“We are glad justice is being served and hope this sentencing sends a message that no one is above the law,” said DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha V. Ramos.

“Each time we take a dangerous criminal off or our streets and out of our communities, we all win. The arrest of these violent gang members sends a resounding message that criminal activity will not be tolerated in Atlanta and puts their fellow gang members and other violent suspects on notice, that we will find you and hold you accountable.” Atlanta Police Department Interim Chief Rodney Bryant.       

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: The Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in Chicago, Illinois, dating back to the 1970’s.  The gang is highly structured, with a hierarchy of leadership posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.”  The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “Silence and Secrecy” – a prohibition on cooperating with law enforcement.  Violations of the rule are punishable by death. Evidence at trial showed that the Gangster Disciples were responsible for twenty-four shootings from 2011 through 2015, including twelve murders.

Shauntay Craig was a Board Member, the highest-ranking position in the Gangster Disciples. He was responsible for violence, drug trafficking, and murders, including orchestrating the murder of a government informant in Colorado to protect his drug empire.

Donald Glass led the H.A.T.E. Committee, a specialized enforcement team within the Gangster Disciples that reigned terror through its numerous murders, shootings, and robberies. As leader of the H.A.T.E. Committee, Glass ordered his band of teenage shooters, including a juvenile who Glass groomed to be an assassin, to shoot and kill more than ten people.

  • Shauntay Craig, 42, of Birmingham, Alabama, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Craig was convicted on August 30, 2019, after he pleaded guilty to the offense of racketeering conspiracy involving murder and drug trafficking.
  • Donald Glass, 30, of Decatur, Georgia, has been sentenced to life plus ten years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Glass was convicted on May 16, 2019, following a jury trial, of the offenses of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and causing death through the use of a firearm for the murder of Robert Dixon.

 
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, Atlanta Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Aurora Police Department (Colorado), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Marshal’s Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Georgia Department of Corrections, with significant assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
 
Kim S. Dammers, Principal Deputy Chief of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan K. Buchanan, Deputy Chief of the Violent Crime and National Security Section, and Erin N. Spritzer of the Northern District of Georgia, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.
 
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Updated January 22, 2021

Topic
Violent Crime