ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia says a Roanoke man admitted Wednesday he was a member of the Rollin’ 30s Crips and pleaded guilty to murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy charges for gang-related violence in the Star City.

Officials say Demonte Rashod Mack, 32, as well as his alleged co-conspirators — Trayvone Kasey, Chauncey Levesy, and others — were members and associates of the Rollin’ 30s Crips, which also called itself the “Dirt Gang.”

The Rollin’ 30s Crips are described as a national street gang that was founded in the Los Angeles area, with smaller sets in other cities throughout the United States.

The Roanoke set of the Rollin’ 30s operated primarily in the northwestern part of of the city and is centered in and around the Lansdowne neighborhood, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia.

“This outcome is a great example of what happens when law enforcement has a successful partnership with the prosecutorial side of the justice system. Thanks to our partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement, Roanoke is a safer place. Our community is sending a strong message to those who choose to perpetuate gun violence and organized crime in our city: we will find you and do everything we can to hold you accountable for your actions.”

Roanoke City Police Chief Sam Roman

The statement says that Mack admitted on Wednesday, Nov. 24 that he, Kasey, Levesy, and others conspired to conduct a pattern of racketeering activity, including multiple threats of violent crime.

Court documents specify that in June 2017, Mack conspired with Kasey, Levesy, and others to murder “Victim D.F.” The documents further allege that Mack and Kasey murdered “Victim N.L.” at the direction of a leader within the gang.

Officials say both D.F. and N.L. were members of the Rollin’ 30s gang, but fell out of favor with them in early summer of 2017.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia tells WFXR News that N.L. was killed at the age of 17, just a few weeks after he graduated from high school. He was still alive when officers found him at the apartment complex, but died shortly afterward.

After the shooting, Mack and Levesy reportedly met up with other Rollin’ 30s gang members and told the leaders of the gang everything that happened.

“Reducing violent crime through impactful prosecutions like that of the Rollin’ 30s is a priority of this United States Attorney’s Office. We will continue to partner with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to ensure the cases we bring serve to make our communities safer.”

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh

The Roanoke Police Department and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation, which was a coordinated effort that also involved law enforcement assets from Virginia State Police; the Roanoke County Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

According to officials, this prosecution is part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. Through the program, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops 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.