RSK Gang Members Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms for Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Racketeering, Including Murder, Kidnapping, Drug Trafficking, and Other Offenses

            PHOENIX – Yesterday afternoon, Devan Edward Leonard, 28, Kyle Filbert Gray, 26, and Lucille Jean Leonard, 48, members of the Navajo Nation, of Lukachukai, Ariz., were sentenced by United States District Judge David G. Campbell following their respective guilty pleas to RICO conspiracy for their participation in the violent Red Skin Kingz (“RSK”) criminal gang.  Devan Leonard, the leader of RSK, was sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment; Kyle Gray was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment; and Lucille Leonard was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. 

            Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Elizabeth A. Strange, First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael DeLeon, District of Arizona, and Colonel Frank Milstead, Arizona Department of Public Safety announced the sentencings.  FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael DeLeon also expressed his appreciation to the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Department for Public Safety for their partnership and significant assistance during the investigation.

“The investigation and prosecution of these RSK gang members required tremendous work by FBI, Arizona DPS, Navajo Nation DPS, and the prosecution team,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange. “I applaud their dedication and perseverance in obtaining the sentences imposed today.  This case is a testament to our office’s commitment to use every available resource to combat gang violence in Arizona and to bring justice to the victims of violent crime.”   

            As detailed in the Second Superseding Indictment, Devan Leonard, Kyle Gray, and Lucille Leonard are members of the RSK.  RSK operated on the eastern side of the Navajo Nation in the District of Arizona.  RSK was responsible for at least three murders, attempted murder, aggravated assaults, carjacking, kidnappings, sexual assaults, and drug trafficking, amongst other crimes. 

            On or between Dec. 12 and Dec. 13, 2014, Devan Leonard and another RSK member shot and killed two men and then transported their bodies to a remote “wash” in Lukachukai, Ariz., on the Navajo Indian Reservation, where the bodies were dismembered, burned, and buried to conceal the killings.

            On Dec. 16, 2014, Kyle Gray and Devan Leonard shot and killed another victim immediately following a drug trafficking transaction.  Later, Devan Leonard and Kyle Gray transported the victim’s body to a remote sheep camp on the reservation, where they dismembered and burned the victim’s body as they forced the victim’s girlfriend to watch.

            Lucille Leonard held a leadership role in RSK, mostly participating in and overseeing RSK’s drug trafficking activities, including the collection of debts owed to RSK.

           The Second Superseding Indictment in this matter was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dimitra Sampson and Tracy Van Buskirk of the District of Arizona, and Trial Attorneys Kelly Pearson and Hans Miller of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, prosecuted the case.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-15-8076-PCT-DGC (JZB)     

RELEASE NUMBER:    2018-061_ RSK

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