Two Guthrie men who were members of the “Gangster Disciples” in middle Tennessee were sentenced to significant time in prison Tuesday following a seven-week jury trial in Federal Court.
A federal jury convicted the suspects on multiple counts relating to a racketeering conspiracy and a drug distribution conspiracy, which plagued the Clarksville area with violence and murders for more than a decade, according to a news release from U.S. District Court in Nashville.
Forty-one-year-old Marcus Termaine Darden of Guthrie was sentenced to 40 years and 30-year old Elance Justin Lucas of Guthrie was given a 20 year sentence.
Meanwhile, 35-year old Derrick Lamar Kilgore of Clarksville got a 35-year sentence and 44-year old DeCarlos Titington of Clarksville was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.
Court officials say evidence at trial proved that the defendants and other members of the Gangster Disciples murdered members of the rival Bloods gang in Clarksville, including Jessie Hairston in September 2007.
Darden was also directly involved in shooting at least two other people and all four were caught in undercover buys of cocaine between 2010 and 2015.
A total of 12 suspects have been charged with racketeering conspiracy in the case.