Remarks of United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr.

September 19, 2016

Sentencing of Daniel Mathis, Shanti Shelton, Mersadies Shelton

and Kweli Uhuru of the 99 Goonz Syndikate
Introduction
Good afternoon and thank you all for being here today. My name is John
Fishwick and Im the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
Im proud to be joined here today by so many of our law enforcement
partners who worked on this very difficult investigation and prosecution, including
representatives from the Virginia State Police, FBI, the Office of the
Commonwealths Attorney for Louisa County, the Charlottesville Police
Department, the Albemarle County Police Department, the Waynesboro Police
Department, and the Louisa County Sheriffs Office.
Earlier today I met with the family of Kevin Quick, the man who was so
brutally murdered by the four defendants who were sentenced earlier in federal

court. Four defendants who were members of a violent street gang, the 99 Goon
Syndikate, a sect of the Bloods Street gang.
Kevins family has been through so much throughout this process and I
thank them for their strength, their patience and their faith in our office for
handling this very difficult case.
I want talk about this case and todays sentencings and then speak broadly
about prosecuting gang cases and how effective this case was as an example of
cooperative law enforcement efforts.

US v. the 99 Goonz Syndikate.

In 2013, Kevin Quick got a text message from Yadi Weaver, who was the
mother of Kevins daughter. It was late and their newborn child was suffering
from whooping cough. Yadi was worried about the baby and asked if Kevin would
come over and help. Like any good father, Kevin didnt hesitate and left his
mothers home in Waynesboro, where he was living at the time, and drove to
Yadis apartment here in Charlottesville.
But Kevin never got the chance to see either Yadi or his daughter that
evening because waiting in that parking lot were Daniel Mathis, Shanti Shelton,
Mersadies Shelton and Kweli Uhuru.

These four individuals, who for the

previous year had participated in a pattern of violent armed robberies in and around
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Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Louisa County and Fluvanna County, carjacked

Kevin, kidnapped him, and eventually drove him to an isolated wooded area on the
border between Goochland and Louisa counties where they shot him once in the
back of the head.
Kevin Quick was a father, a son, a brother, a husband and a Captain in the
Waynesboro Reserve Police Department.
The four individuals who were charged and ultimately found guilty by a jury
of their peers for a variety of federal charges related to Kevins kidnapping and
murder, including federal racketeering charges, were sentenced today to spend the
rest of their lives in federal prison.
Now we all know these sentences wont bring Kevin Quick back to his
family, his friends or co-workers. Knowing that these individuals will spend the
rest of their lives in prison cannot heal the wounds of losing a loved one, but I do
hope it brings some level of closure to Kevins family to know that this very strong
coalition of law enforcement standing behind me justly and righteously found the
individuals responsible for the senseless death of their son, their brother, their
husband.

Gang Problem/Prosecutions
One of the issues this case highlighted for me is the continued presence of
gangs in Central Virginia. If you look at the defendants in this case, most of them
are from Charlottesville, Albemarle or Louisa counties. These are local kids who
grew up here and were recruited into this gang lifestyle out of our very own
communities, our schools and our neighborhoods. To see just how violent this
group was, with multiple, violent armed robberies, multiple shootings and the
murder of an off-duty reserve police officer, is a stark reality to face.
But its also an eye-opening call-to-action, one that this community has
answered with gusto. One way the communities in Charlottesville, Albemarle and
Louisa counties has responded has been the work of GRACE, an anti-gang group
that focuses on gang prevention and education.
GRACE has already done great work in the region and continues to be a
positive force in the fight against gang recruitment.

Cooperative Law Enforcement

While prevention and education is a part of what we do, the biggest reason
these four defendants are going to prison for the rest of their lives is because of the
great work of the federal, state and local law enforcement officers standing behind
me.
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These individuals, and the others who operated as part of this conspiracy,
participated in an escalating string of violent, armed robberies over a two-year
period that spanned multiple jurisdictions and effected the lives of multiple
victims.
If not for a cooperative effort by law enforcement, this group, or some of its
members, might still be free today. However, because the agencies represented by
those standing behind me today came together and attacked this threat, not with
ego or the desire to get the credit in the media, but rather with a focus on doing
what is best for the community and for justice, this conspiracy was put to an end.
From the very beginning the Virginia State Police has been the lead
investigative agency in this matter, working closely with the FBI to move this case
forward. This type of cooperation was imperative to building a strong RICO case
against this violent street gang, one that allowed our office to use the federal RICO
statue to charge the entire gang membership for the total scope of their actions.
This type of investigation could not be done by a single agency.
It is my pleasure to welcome Adam Lee, the Special Agent in Charge of the
FBIs Richmond Division, who will speak about the FBIs role in this
investigation.

Conclusion
Todays sentencing of Daniel Mathis, Mersadies Shelton, Shanti Shelton and
Kweli Uhuru is the beginning of the end in what has been a very long and arduous
case. In the weeks to come, other members of this conspiracy will be in Federal
court and will receive their sentences for their various roles in this tale.
Today, Judge Conrad sentenced these four defendants to spend the rest of
their lives in federal prison. I hope Kevin Quicks family can find some closure in
knowing that this office and all the men and women who worked on this case, from
the lead investigator all the way down, worked very hard to seek justice for their
son, their brother, their husband, their friend.
I also hope that the sentences imposed today provide some closure to the
other victims of this violent street gang, this includes the numerous, merchants
who were held at gunpoint, the citizens who had their homes invaded at gun point
and an elderly victim who was poisoned.
Today, justice was realized.
I once again want to thank all of you for coming this afternoon. We will now
take a few questions and do our best to answer them.