June 16, 2021 – 9:45 p.m.
Six men charged with attempted murder in four Des Moines-area shooting last year now face racketeering and other federal charges.
A racketeering conviction can carry a penalty, upon conviction, of up to life in prison
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa announced the grand jury indictment Wednesday in connection with what it said were a Des Moines street gang’s shootings of rival gang members last year.
Raekwon Patton, 23, Fabrece Bower Turner, 23, Braden Shafer, 19. Austin Mallory, 20, Yuri Green Jr., 21 and Jordan Wilkerson, 28 were charged with attempted murder in connection with racketeering, according to a Wednesday news release.
The 15-count case includes lesser charges related to illegal firearm and ammunition possession, carry, use and discharge and one count of tampering with a witness.
In the release, acting U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal and Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert alleged that all six of the men charged are either members or associates of the gang Only the Brothers, or OTB.
The indictment, according to the release, asserts that the OTB Street Gang is “a criminal enterprise engaged in racketeering activity” and lays out a litany of alleged illegal activity, including:
- Preserving and protecting the profits of the gang through threats and violence and keeping victims and witnesses in fear.
- Initiating new members through the practice of having them shoot another person.
- “Obtaining and using firearms to protect gang-related personnel and operations, and to deter, eliminate, and retaliate against other rival street gangs.”
- Agreeing to distribute drugs.
- Agreeing or conspiring to commit acts of violence, including acts involving murder, against rival gangs.
“All members of this community deserve to live free from the fear of being victimized by the individual and repeated acts of violence by these criminal gangs and their rivals,” Westphal said in the release. “We will continue to make community safety one of our highest priorities, and work hand in hand with our local law enforcement and prosecution partners to aggressively prosecute those individuals who are the primary drivers of violent crime.”
