A grand jury indicted 11 Gainesville gang members in May for crimes including deadly shootings like the Gainesville American Legion shoot-out, the state attorney announced last week.
The alleged criminal activity occurred in a five year period from April 2017 to May 2022. The racketeering offenses include murder, attempted murder, robbery, burglary, drug possession and battery. Eight of the 11 defendants were indicted for firearm or ammunition possession by a delinquent.
Ten of the 11 defendants are being held at the Alachua County Jail. Police are still searching for the eleventh defendant, 18-year-old Elton Banks. The indictment accuses Banks of burglarizing vehicles and fleeing from law enforcement on multiple occasions. It also accuses him of illegal drug possession and shooting at an occupied residence .
Javari Baptise was indicted for his involvement in the June 2021 Gainesville American Legion shoot-out that led to the death of a 13-year-old bystander,
The grand jury also indicted two men, 18-year-old Orion Davis and 20-year-old Montrell Carter, for October 2021 firearm possession; the two men were allegedly involved in a shooting outside Green Apple Liquor at that time that injured a woman.
Tyree Johnson, an 18-year-old, was indicted for the alleged premeditated murder of Kiontaya Presley around January 1.
The youngest defendant is 17-year-old Delonte Bing, who allegedly sold cannabis at Fort Clarke Middle School in 2018, according to the indictment. He also allegedly participated in a 2019 theft of a firearm from a vehicle, a 2020 assault and a 2021 shooting.
Contact Omar at oateyah@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @OAteyah.
Omar Ateyah is a third-year journalism student and the Alligator's Race and Equity reporter. He previously served as the Alligator's crime reporter and as a news assistant on the Metro Desk. He enjoys going on long, thoughtful walks.
