New death penalty cases could be brought in suspected gang killings of Lake Wylie couple

A federal prosecutor said Monday that new suspects could face death-penalty charges in the suspected gang killings of Doug and Debbie London.

Seven alleged members of United Blood Nation already stand accused of capital murder in the October 2014 slayings of the couple at their Lake Wylie, S.C., home. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Greene told U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn Monday that more names could be added under a possible new indictment.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to say whether the additions would come from the 12 alleged UBN members already charged or would be new names entirely.

Authorities say the Londons were shot to death to keep them from testifying against three UBN members accused of attempting to rob the couple’s Pineville mattress store in May 2014.

The final list of death penalty defendants in the case remains in flux. All decisions by federal prosecutors to seek or waive capital punishment must be approved by top Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C.

Just when those decisions will be announced in unclear. Prosecutors said it will take another two to three months to distribute all the evidence to the numerous defense attorneys now assigned to the case. Fourteen of those attorneys were in Cogburn’s courtroom for Monday’s docket call.

Richard Culler, who represents defendant Nana “Ratchet” Adoma, asked Cogburn to separate his client’s case from the others and give Adoma a speedy trial. Adoma now faces federal robbery, assault and racketeering charges that carry up to life imprisonment. Culler said the longer the investigation continues, the more his client is placed at risk.

Cogburn did not grant that request but he urged prosecutors to move the cases along to save taxpayer money and protect the defendants’ rights.

Adoma has been in jail since the robbery attempt on the Londons’ store. He and the other accused gang members were indicted in April.

The seven facing death-penalty charges include:

▪ Jamell “Murda Mell” Cureton, who was wounded in a shootout with Doug London during the robbery and is accused of masterminding the couple’s murders from his Mecklenburg Jail cell. Cureton, who is Adoma’s brother, also has been charged with the 2013 shooting death of homeless teenager Kwamne Clyburn in a Charlotte park. An FBI raid of his jail cell uncovered photographs of two judges and led to their being placed under protective watch.

▪ Malcom “Bloody Silent” Hartley, the alleged hit man accused of carrying out the hit on the Londons.

▪ Ahkeem “Lil Keem” McDonald, accused in the killing of Clyburn.

▪ Rahkeem “Big Keem” McDonald, charged with planning the Londons’ killings and helping hide the murder weapon.

▪ David “Flames” Fudge, the admitted driver in the store robbery who prosecutors say helped plan the Londons’ killings. Documents also indicate that some gang members considered Fudge to be an FBI informant.

▪ Randall “Foe” Hankins, who court documents say was Cureton’s top assistant in orchestrating the plot against the Londons.

▪ Briana “Breezy B” Johnson, the daughter of a law enforcement officer who authorities say drove Hartley to the Londons’ home.

The other defendants face a range of racketeering charges that carry punishments of up to life in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

Hartley and Johnson also face murder charges in York County, S.C., where the killings of the Londons occurred.

As in state courts, death-penalty trials and sentences have become increasingly rare in federal judicial circuits. Three defendants are on Death Row in North Carolina for federal murder convictions; South Carolina has two.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, federal prosecutors have tried around 200 death penalty cases since 1988. Give the choice of life or death, federal juries have imposed life sentences in two-thirds of the capital cases. Previous Attorney General Eric Holder authorized less than 10 percent of the capital cases as predecessor John Ashcroft did a decade before.

Yet, former federal prosecutor Richard Myers says the death penalty remains an effective bargaining chip in investigations, particularly in persuading defendants to provide more information about criminal organizations and their leaders.

The goal, says Myers, now assistant dean of the UNC Chapel Hill law school, is to implicate the highest-ranking figures possible and to do the most damage to the gang.

This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 12:26 PM with the headline "New death penalty cases could be brought in suspected gang killings of Lake Wylie couple."