Bounty Hunter Bloods Gang Members Sentenced for Racketeering Acts

NORFOLK, VA—Amaad Jamaal Brantley, 24, of Portsmouth, Va., was sentenced today in Norfolk federal court to 12 years in prison for participating in a pattern of racketeering activity (RICO) which included attempted murder, home invasion, robbery, and conspiring to distribute controlled substances, and to the charge of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after Brantley was sentenced by United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Brantley pled guilty to those on August 2, 2011.

According to court documents, between 2005 and 2008 Brantley was involved in several home invasions, attempted robberies, attempted murders and various narcotics distribution for the benefit of the gang. On one occasion, Brantley and two other gang members got into a verbal altercation with another at a local comedy club and continued the fight by chasing after the individual’s car in their own vehicle and shooting at the victim’s car as he drove. On another occasion Brantley was involved in a planned home invasion of an individual who lived in an apartment complex in Chesapeake, Va. Brantley and the other gang members mistakenly attempted to enter an apartment that did not belong to their intended target. When a female occupant inside screamed for help, several neighbors came to her assistance armed with handguns and a shootout occurred.

Two other co-defendants, Jerrell Ivey Woodley, a/k/a “Rell,” 25, and Darius Demarco Prayer, 47, both of Portsmouth, Va., were sentenced yesterday. Woodley pled guilty on September 16, 2011, to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in connection with an armed assault, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Prayer pled guilty on September 14, 2011 to RICO and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

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.