A former Sin City Deciples president got 17 years in federal prison Tuesday after he was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Herman Troy “G-Rilla” Jefferson, 51, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, was convicted after an 18-day trial in the U.S. District Court in Hammond, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson. U.S. District Court Judge Philip P. Simon presided.
Jefferson will also serve three years on supervised release.
Documents filed by federal prosecutors state the motorcycle gang’s members knew Jefferson dealt marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Jefferson used a female motorcycle club, Sins of Sheba, to traffic cocaine and marijuana, records show.
He set up a pyramid scheme to traffic drugs, asking Sin City Deciples members to front “$10,000 to $30,000” in drugs to sell nationwide in return for a 20% cut. West Coast members confronted Jefferson after they weren’t paid.
Prosecutors also alleged “multiple acts of extortion and violence” happened under Jefferson.
Jefferson joined in 2013. He was president from 2017 to 2021, “second in command” in the organization after founder Kenneth McGhee.
Jefferson’s lawyer Matthew Fech wrote in court filings that the government’s case was “guilt by association” and it “attempted to make (him) a much larger figure in (the motorcycle gang) than he really was.”
McGhee “was the decision maker,” and could have overruled Jefferson’s orders, the lawyer argued.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, East Chicago Police, Gary Police, Griffith Police, Hammond Police, IRS, Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Merrillville Police, Munster Police, Schererville Police, Lake County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Indiana, the Western District of Kentucky, and the Western District of Pennsylvania assisted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys David Nozick, Michael Toth, and Kimberly Schultz prosecuted the case.
