Members of a gang in Fayette County, Tennessee have been convicted for racketeering charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the guilty verdicts of Tomarcus (“TC”) Baskerville, 35, Thomas (“TJ”) Smith, 24, and Courtland (“Hotbox”) Springfield, 32, all of Fayette County, Tennessee on Thursday.
The court said that these three were part of the "Traveling Vice Lords/Junk Yard Dogs" (TVL/JYD) street gang, a "violent criminal street gang that operates throughout the Western District of Tennessee."
The court said that the group is a subset of Chicago’s "Almighty Vice Lord Nation," the gang they said participated in a "series of attempted murders and murders of rival gang members during a gang war in the summer of 2020." The shootings reportedly spanned five different crime scenes across Fayette and Hardeman counties.
A superseding indictment involving fifteen TVL/JYD members was reportedly filed in February of 2023. The court said the defendants were charged with conspiring to participate in racketeering and several incidents of attempted murder, using a firearm while committing a violent crime, murder in aid of racketeering and using a firearm to cause death during an act of violence. Eleven defendants reportedly pled guilty in the case.
After a month-long trial, on Feb. 9th, 2024, Baskerville, Smith and Springfield were reportedly convicted of multiple charges under the superseding indictment:
The court said that gang leader Tomarcus Baskerville was convicted of 21 counts, including attempted Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) murder, VICAR murder, the use of a firearm during attempted VICAR murders and RICO conspiracy. Baskerville will reportedly face a mandatory sentence of two life terms.
Thomas Smith was convicted of attempted VICAR murder, use of a firearm during an attempted VICAR murder and RICO conspiracy. Smith is reportedly facing up to life in prison.
The court said that Courtland Springfield was found guilty of four counts of attempted VICAR murder, four counts of using a firearm during attempted VICAR murders, VICAR murder, using a firearm during the VICAR murder and RICO conspiracy. Springfield reportedly faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Sentencing in this case is set for June 7.
This case was reportedly investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office; Whiteville Police Department and Somerville Police Department.
