GRIMEY GANG

PRESS RELEASE South Los Santos-Based Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Leading Crack Cocaine Manufacturing and Distribution Ring in Davis Friday, January 14, 2023 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of San Andreas LOS SANTOS – A leader of the Grove Street Piru (GSP) street gang pleaded guilty today to federal drug and firearms charges for leading a manufacturing and distribution of crack cocaine conspiracy in and around the gang's "territory" of Grove Street in the city of Davis. Deron Guest, 38, a.k.a. "Mad Ball," of Davis, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Guest is the lead defendant in an April 2021 indictment targeting members and associates of the GSP street gang for drug- and firearm-related crimes. According to his plea agreement, from August 2019 to May 2020, Guest organized and led a drug trafficking conspiracy in which he and his accomplices agreed to distribute cocaine. Specifically, Guest arranged to obtain powder cocaine from at least two drug suppliers. He then directed his co-conspirators to cook, and would himself cook, the powder cocaine and manufacture it into crack cocaine to sell to customers, including back to his powder cocaine suppliers to sell in crack form. Guest directed his accomplices in the packaging, sale, and delivery of crack cocaine to customers, which included co-conspirators and other GSP gang members. Guest also directed the receipt and storage of drug proceeds throughout GSP-claimed territory in Davis. As part of these activities, Guest arranged for an accomplice's residence in the Charleston Gardens housing projects in Davis to be used as a stash house in which Guest and his co-conspirators continuously sold crack cocaine over a period of many months. Guest recruited and hired co-conspirators to work at the Davis stash house and directed them in selling narcotics to customers there and in nearby areas, restocking the stash house's drug supply, and transporting drug proceeds to Guest and other accomplices at various locations. Guest admitted in his plea agreement to possessing a firearm in May 2020. He was not permitted to do so because he previously had been convicted of felonies in Los Santos Superior Court, including a cocaine possession charge in 1998 and a domestic violence-related charge in 2001. He admitted in his plea agreement that he possessed the firearm for the purpose of protecting his crack cocaine distribution business. Guest also agreed to forfeit the firearm and $44,600 in cash law enforcement seized at his residence in Davis and at another residence in La Puerta. United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha scheduled a July 14 sentencing hearing, at which time Guest will face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of 40 years in federal prison for the drug trafficking conspiracy charge, and up 10 years in federal prison for the firearms offense. The other 11 defendants in this indictment either have pleaded guilty or signed plea agreements in this case and await sentencing. Another GSP gang member, and Guest's second in command in the drug trafficking conspiracy, Marvin Lyles, 52, a.k.a. “M-Bone,” of Davis, pleaded guilty in July 2022 to one count of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Aenlle-Rocha sentenced Lyles to 188 months in federal prison. In April 2021, law enforcement conducted a takedown in which 8 GSP members and associates were charged in a total of six federal grand jury indictments. Of those 8 defendants, prosecutors have secured 4 convictions. The FBI's Los Santos Metropolitan Task Force on Violent Gangs, which consists of the FBI, the Los Santos Police Department, the Los Santos County Sheriff’s Department, and the San Andreas Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Amy E. Pomerantz of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.

Out of Character Our focus is heavily on character development and the interpersonal dynamics that underpin the community of Grove Street, which has long been acknowledged as 'ground zero' for gang activity in Davis. To preserve an authentic experience, we're starting off as a closed group. This isn't for exclusivity, but rather to ensure that our portrayal remains as true-to-life as possible. Our commitment to realism necessitates this approach - we're striving for a depiction that goes beyond the surface-level cliches, presenting a layered and nuanced representation of the lives closely connected with Grove Street Piru. Eventually, as our faction evolves and solidifies, we'll look forward to welcoming more players.