3 of 58 defendants in Erie 4-Nation gang case are at large. FBI is looking for them
The FBI is asking for the public's help as it searches for three defendants in the Erie 4-Nation gang case who have not been arrested since they and 55 others were indicted in May.
One of the three defendants who remains at large is Dajean D. Williams, 28, known as Spank. He is accused of being the second-highest ranking member of the 4-Nation gang, according to the indictment.
The other defendants who remain at large, according to the FBI, are Lamont D. Warren Jr., 25, known as Mont-G, and Dazerion J. Hinton, 24, known as Bobby.
Warren is listed 22nd in the indictment, making him the last of the 22 defendants in the case who are accused of being members of 4-Nation. Hinton is listed 36th in the indictment and is not accused of being a gang member.
The FBI on Thursday put out a request for the public's help in finding the three defendants. The FBI asked anyone with information on the three to contact the agency's Pittsburgh office at 412-432-4000.
The 58-defendant indictment was returned on May 30 and unsealed on June 8 in U.S. District Court in Erie.
What are the charges in the 4-Nation case?
The case represents the largest-ever criminal prosecution in federal court in Erie. It is also the first case in federal court in Erie in which the U.S. Attorney's Office brought charges in Erie under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, the federal law used to target the mob and other organized crime operations.
The first 22 defendants in the case are accused of being members of 4-Nation. The 22 are each charged with a RICO count — on allegations that the gang was a criminal enterprise that distributed illegal drugs and engaged in other crimes — and a charge that they conspired to traffic in cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs for the past 10 years.
The other 36 defendants are accused of conspiring to traffic in illegal drugs, with some of those defendants connected to the 4-Nation defendants. Some of the defendants are also accused of weapons offenses.
Who is the accused leader of the gang?
As part of the probe, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies seized 19.2 pounds of methamphetamine; 180,018 fentanyl pills; 5.22 kilograms of cocaine, or about 11.5 pounds; 4.9 kilograms of fentanyl powder, or about 11 pounds; 709.5 grams of fentanyl-related drugs, or about 25 ounces; several pounds of marijuana, 33 guns and $235,151 in cash.
The lead defendant in the entire 4-Nation case is Davante Q. Jones, 30, also known as Smoov. He was arrested in Tampa, Florida, on June 8, the date the indictment was unsealed. He had been living in Tampa, and was returned to Erie to face the federal charges.
Jones is incarcerated. In October, he lost his bid to get out of prison pending prosecution.
One defendant has pleaded guilty in the case and is awaiting sentencing. The other defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: FBI asks for public's help to find 3 defendants in Erie 4-Nation case
