Roanoke Man Faces Life Sentence After Pleading Guilty to Gang-related Charges

ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – Trayvone Kasey, a member of the Rollin’ 30s Crips in Roanoke, who conspired with others to commit murder and other gang-related violent crimes, pleaded guilty today in federal court to a plethora of federal crimes as part of the Western District of Virginia’s ongoing Project Safe Neighborhoods effort to reduce gun and violent crime in the Roanoke Valley. United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen, David W. Archey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division and Samuel Roman Jr., Roanoke Chief of Police made the announcement today following the guilty plea.

Kasey, 21, of Roanoke, was federally indicted in October 2018 on federal racketeering charges, conspiracy to commit murder, and several firearms charges. He pleaded guilty today to federal racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to committee murder in aid of racketeering, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death, interference with commerce by robbery, and discharging a firearm and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. At sentencing, Kasey faces up to life in prison.  A sentencing hearing for Kasey will be scheduled after the trial of the remaining defendants, Sean Denzel Guerrant and DeMonte Rashod Mack.

Kasey and his alleged co-conspirators, Sean Guerrant, Demonte Mack, and Chauncey Levesy, were members and associates of the Rollin’ 30s Crips, which also called itself the “Dirt Gang.”   The Rollin’ 30s Crips are a national street gang founded in the greater Los Angeles, California area with smaller sets in other cities throughout the United States. The Roanoke set of the Rollin’ 30s operated primarily in northwest Roanoke, centered in and around the Lansdowne neighborhood.

As part of today’s guilty plea, Kasey admitted that beginning no later than April 22, 2017, he, Guerrant, Mack, and Levesy conspired to conduct a pattern of racketeering activity including multiple threats and acts involving violent crime.

Specifically, between on or about June 14, 2017, and June 15, 2017, Guerrant, Mack, Kasey, and Levesy conspired to murder “Victim D.F.” Court documents further allege that Mack and Kasey murdered “Victim N.L.” at the direction of Guerrant.

Levesy has also pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.  Levesy will also be sentenced after the trial of Guerrant and Mack.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the City of Roanoke Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Task Force.  The investigation was a coordinated effort that also involved law enforcement assets from the Virginia State Police, Roanoke County Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency. 

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.