The final defendant charged as part of the case against the Simon City Royals gang has pleaded guilty to racketeering (RICO) conspiracy.
The Simon City Royals, which is aligned with the Gangster Disciples, was a violent prison gang operating primarily in the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) but had members and associates acting on their behalf outside of prison throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, and other states.
Through an alliance with the Gangster Disciples gang, the Simon City Royals engaged in a host of criminal activities, including murder, attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, witness tampering, money laundering, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, large-scale drug trafficking, and fraud.
“The U.S. Marshals Service, along with our federal, state, and local partners, strive daily to protect our communities from violent criminal organizations such as the Simon City Royals,” U.S. Marshal Daniel R. McKittrick for the Northern District of Mississippi said. “The final guilty plea ended a reign of terror for 37 career criminals, who were responsible for a tremendous amount of criminal activity in our local communities.”
The gang was responsible for the murder of a prison inmate in 2018 when a Simon City Royals leader issued a “kill on sight” order, directing any gang member who encountered the targeted inmate to murder him.
In January 2018, Dillon Heffker and Robert Williams acted on the order, stabbing the victim dozens of times with improvised prison knives.
Leaders of the Simon City Royals rewarded Heffker and Williams for the murder by arranging for hundreds of dollars to be directed to their prison commissary accounts.
“Our communities have every right to expect that violent criminal gangs will be held to account and incarcerated for their crimes,” U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner for the Northern District of Mississippi stated. “Thanks to the extraordinary work of our law enforcement partners and career federal prosecutors led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stringfellow, 37 members of the Simon City Royals, a violent gang acting outside as well as inside our prisons as a criminal enterprise, have been arrested, incarcerated, or are currently awaiting sentencing.”
Simon City Royals were also responsible for the kidnapping and torture of a former member for perceived violations of the gang’s code of conduct.
In 2015, a member of the Simon City Royals kidnapped the victim at knifepoint and forced him into a hotel room. There, Simon City Royals members and associates tied the victim to a chair, interrogated him, tortured him, and burned off his Simon City Royals tattoo.
In addition, the Simon City Royals engaged in widespread drug trafficking, including smuggling large quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana and synthetic marijuana, heroin, and benzodiazepines into dozens of Mississippi state prison facilities.
The gang distributed the substances, including nearly 100% pure crystal methamphetamine, to inmates throughout the prison system.
Below are the defendants and the charges to which they pleaded guilty:
- Allen Posey, 48, of Jackson, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Jonathan Davis, 39, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, racketeering conspiracy;
- Jeremy Holcombe, 43, of Meridian, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Jonathan Burnett, 39, of Birmingham, Alabama, racketeering conspiracy;
- Hank Chapman, 38, of Ripley, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Jason Hayden, 42, of Picayune, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Joshua Miller, 41, of Jackson, racketeering conspiracy;
- Gavin Pierson, 33, of San Diego, racketeering conspiracy;
- Justin Shaw, 36, of Holly Springs, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Bobby Brumfield, 44, of New Orleans, racketeering conspiracy;
- Jordan Deakles, 31, of Gulfport, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Bryce Francis, 43, of Columbus, Ohio, racketeering conspiracy;
- Anthony Murphy, 30, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Chancy Bilbo, 31, of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, racketeering conspiracy;
- Dillon Heffker, 32, of Bay St. Louis, racketeering conspiracy;
- Douglas Jones, 34, of Jackson, racketeering conspiracy;
- Cody Woodall, 31, of Gulfport, racketeering conspiracy;
- Michael Muscolino, 43, of Phoenix, racketeering conspiracy;
- Valerie Madden, 54, of Chicago, drug conspiracy;
- Samuel Conwill, 45, of Tupelo, Mississippi, money laundering conspiracy;
- Jason Collins, 40, of Loraine, Ohio, money laundering conspiracy;
- Justin Leake, 43, of Meridian, racketeering conspiracy;
- Michael Dossett, 42, of Carriere, Mississippi, felon in possession of a firearm;
- Angel Labauve, 43, of Picayune, Mississippi, drug conspiracy;
- Bruce Floyd, 42, of Senatobia, Mississippi, drug conspiracy;
- Jacquelyn Harmon, 33, of Senatobia, drug conspiracy;
- Cody Myrick, 33, of Grenada, Mississippi, unlawful transport of firearms;
- Craig Thomas, 36, of Grenada, unlawful transport of firearms;
- Arvis Tolbert, 43, of Hurley, Mississippi, violent crime in support of racketeering activity;
- Preston Edwards, 36, of Jackson, drug conspiracy;
- Catherine Perry, 41, of Tupelo, interstate transportation in aid of racketeering;
- John Brooks, 37, of Greenwood, Mississippi, drug conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy;
- Alana Dickey, 21, of Holly Springs, interstate transportation in aid of racketeering;
- Austin Ruby, 35, of Holly Springs, drug conspiracy;
- Chris Vincent, 20, of Gulfport, drug conspiracy;
- Trevor Overby, 45, of Jackson, drug conspiracy;
- Anthony Rouse, 33, of Picayune, drug conspiracy.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
