Skip to content
American Justice Notebook
Menu
  • Home
  • About The Editor/Publisher
  • Notes – Cases – Thoughts & Quotes
  • Contact’/Subscribe
Menu

Gang Member Guilty of Firebombing Prison Guard’s House Who Interfered with Illegal Drug Deals

Posted on May 18, 2023

A member of the Gangster Disciples gang pleaded guilty Thursday in Mississippi to a racketeering conspiracy involving his firebombing of a prison guard’s house, according to authorities.

Darrell Steele also plead guilty to the distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, officials stated.

Twelve gang members have also pleaded guilty.

Steele’s plea marks the 12th and final conviction in the Mississippi case against five members of the Gangster Disciples and seven members of the Simon City Royals, a gang aligned with the Gangster Disciples.

According to court documents, Steele, 49, of Meridian, Mississippi, was a member of the Gangster Disciples.

Acting on the orders of high-ranking Gangster Disciples leaders, Steele, and other gang members manufactured firebombs to bomb the home of a prison guard.

Officials stated that the guard was interfering with the gang’s illegal drug operation within Mississippi state prisons.

On or about Sept. 11, 2019, Steele threw a firebomb into the home where the guard lived with his wife and young children. The firebomb malfunctioned, and the guard and his family escaped unharmed.

Steele pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 16. He is facing up to life in prison.

The other 11 defendants in the case have already been sentenced to the following terms of imprisonment:

Defendant Prison Sentence
Latroy Daniels, aka Duke 10 years
Gregory Moffett, aka Gutta, aka Sir Judah 10 years
Michael Willie, aka OG Mike 10 years
Derrick Houston, aka Psycho 16 years and eight months
Donald Jones, aka Worm Seven years and eight months
Wilton Johnson, aka Big Boi Three years and five months
Jeremy Smith, aka Lil One Three years and five months
Carl McMillian Five years and 10 months
James Vaughn, aka Sir Flute: Five years and 10 months
Justin Hannah Eight years and four months
Joe Johnson Seven years and eight months

In a related case, the Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi are currently prosecuting another 21 members and associates of the Simon City Royals.

According to court documents, the Gangster Disciples and Simon City Royals were allied under the “Folk Nation Alliance.”

Within the Mississippi state prison system and throughout the state of Mississippi, the Gangster Disciples and Simon City Royals worked together to conduct fraud, narcotics trafficking, and other criminal moneymaking schemes.

They committed several acts of violence, including assaults and attempted murders.

The cases are investigated by the ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, FBI Jackson Field Office, Mississippi Department of Corrections, and local law enforcement agencies across multiple states.

Trial Attorney Brendan Woods of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Stringfellow for the Northern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.

NEWS & INFORMATION

THE GUARDIAN CNN NEWS COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE NEW REPUBLIC HUFFINGTON POST CBS NEWS MSNBC NEWS MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY NPR NEWS INSTITUTE FOR FREE SPEECH BBC ROLLING STONE FACTCHECK.ORG

US SUPREME COURT FEDERAL COURT WEBSITE LINKS FBI PRESS RELEASES / MOST WANTED CIA PRESS RELEASES / LIBRARY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE / PRESS RELEASES FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: HOW TO HIRE A LAWYER FEDERAL COUNTER TERRORISM GUIDE AMERICAN COURTHOUSE INFORMATION

TODAY'S QUOTE

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” — Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

PROPUBLICA INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM REPORTS

“The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to bare the secrets of government and inform the people.” – Justice Hugo Black

©2026 American Justice Notebook | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme