LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After the 2017 murder of 16-year-old Floyd Dunn, police say evidence and witnesses led them to a common thread: the presence of a gang alliance operating on the city's east end.
In 2021, they gathered evidence and a host of criminal cases to charge 14 individuals collectively with engaging in organized crime. The used the rarely used Gang Violence Prevention Act of 1978.
Almost three years later, the defendants still await a jury trial, and many are still behind bars.
Their guilty verdicts, pleas, and pending charges include murder, manslaughter, assault, trafficking, wanton endangerment, theft, fleeing and evading police, and illegal possession of guns and drugs.
Defendants Kenneth Jackson and John Boulder entered a plea deal in 2022 for a pair of 2019 murders on Winchester Road that police say was a result of rival gang violence.
Jackson is serving a 12-year sentence for that charge, and Boulder is serving a seven-year sentence for facilitation of murder.
Those charges are among the many prosecutors are now using to tie the 14 defendants together through a common name: NLMB, No Limit Gang, 530 Gang, YEN Gang, Green Gang, and MBK.
However, defense attorneys are challenging the narrative. They claim prosecutors' methods are flawed and have argued social media is not real life, and things like rap lyrics, Facebook messages, and words like a boss shouldn't be used against them.
They're also asking the judge to try the defendants separately.
With much to still sort out, there's no indication of when a trial date will be set.
Lead Prosecutor Andrew Gillespie just took over the case in January. He says the time the case is taking is for good reason.
"Rest assured that much of the 'delay' in this case can simply be attributed to the logistics and amount of time needed to litigate each and every pretrial issue among 16 different parties - 14 defendants plus the Commonwealth and the Court. We continue to work diligently on this case, just as we do each and every felony case in our office," said Gillespie.
