Wichita Falls, Texas Gang Member Sentenced to More Than 27 Years in Federal Prison Without Parole on Firearms and Drug Convictions
Defendant a Founding Member of KEP Street Gang

DALLAS—Michael Gene Williams, 37, of Wichita Falls, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 327 months in federal prison on firearms and drug convictions, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Williams pleaded guilty in November 2009 to one count of felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He has been in custody since his arrest on October 11, 2009, on charges outlined in an indictment returned a few days earlier by a federal grand jury in Dallas.

Williams is a founding member of the Kemp Edition Posse (KEP), a violent street gang that has operated in Wichita Falls. Williams had two prior aggravated assault convictions involving the use of a firearm. On one occasion, he shot the victim in the head.

According to documents filed in the case, in September 2009, officers with the Wichita Falls Police Department executed a state search warrant at a residence on Sullivan Street in Wichita Falls, based on information that Williams was selling crack cocaine out of the residence. The Wichita Falls S.W.A.T. assisted in the execution of the warrant.

As officers approached the residence, Williams and another man were sitting on the porch. Upon seeing the officers, both men ran inside the residence. As the S.W.A.T. prepared to enter, Williams went out the front door and obeyed commands to get down on his stomach. The other man ran out the back door of the residence and was apprehended by S.W.A.T.

Members of S.W.A.T. entered the home to clear the residence and found a female inside. They removed her and searched the residence. Inside a closet, S.W.A.T. found a Norinco 7.62 x 39 semi-automatic rifle, containing a magazine with 29 rounds of ammunition, and a bag containing more ammunition. In what appeared to be a run-down bathroom, officers found an amber-colored pill bottle on the floor with the white lid nearby. Several off-white colored cubed pieces were found that field tested positive for crack cocaine. These pieces were collected and sent to the Abilene, Texas crime lab where testing confirmed it was 5.3 grams of crack cocaine.

Also found in the residence was a set of digital scales with cocaine residue, a partial box of shotgun shells with five rounds of 12 gauge ammunition on a couch, several empty plastic baggies found on top of a window A/C unit in the living room, a greeting card belonging to Williams found in the living room, a mirror and two razor blades found on the living room floor, and a size 6x pair of wind pants.

Williams was searched and $710 was found in the front pocket of his wind pants; the other man had $114 on his person. Of the $824 dollars found on Williams and the other man, not one bill was larger than $20. Based on the narcotics officers’ training, experience and expertise in drug investigations, the cubed crack cocaine was of a size that would commonly sell on the street in Wichita Falls for $20 each.

Williams admitted that he started selling crack cocaine in 2005 and was making approximately $1500 per week. He admitted that he “rocks-up” the cocaine, meaning he converts powder cocaine to crack cocaine; that he purchases the powder cocaine from a supplier in Fort Worth, Texas; and that he currently sells, in hand-to-hand transactions, approximately four-and-a-half ounces of crack cocaine per week. Williams, a convicted felon, also admitted possessing the Norinco rifle.

The case was investigated by the Wichita Falls Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank L. Gatto was in charge of the prosecution.