Gang member sentenced to 8 years after shooting that damaged several homes

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -21-year-old Quajohn Anthony Crews was sentenced to 8 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after several homes were damaged in a shooting on October of 2022.

According to court documents, Wilmington police responded to two almost simultaneous ShotSpotter notifications in an area law enforcement says is associated with Gangster Disciple street gang activity. Officers reportedly located 12 spent shell casings and the homes that were damaged.

One of the homes was occupied by a woman and her children at the time of the shooting and officers found a projectile on the floor of an upstairs bedroom. They identified a red, four-doored Ford Sedan as a suspect vehicle.

Members of the Mobile Field Force located the vehicle the next day near the Hillcrest public housing community and determined it was reported stolen on October 1. When officers got behind the vehicle to initiate a stop, the driver fled and officers saw a handgun being thrown from the passenger side during the chase.

The car stopped and Crews jumped of the back passenger window and ran. He was placed under arrest and law enforcement retrieved a black Ruger semiautomatic handgun that had been reported stolen.

“Following his arrest, Crews was brought to the Wilmington Police Department and interviewed by detectives. During his interview, Crews admitted to being a Blood street gang member and acknowledged there was an ongoing dispute between members of the Blood and Gangster Disciple gangs. He also admitted to traveling to the Creekwood housing community with others on October 12, 2022, and participating in the shooting to ‘send a message’ and retaliate for another shooting that he believed to have been carried out by a Gangster Disciple. Crews also admitted to possessing the Ruger pistol that was thrown from the vehicle and admitted to firing the pistol on October 12, 2022,” the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina wrote in a press release.

2023, Crews pled guilty to the charge on June 7 of this year.

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