VIDEO: SF Indicts Alleged Leaders of BNT Gang

rsumner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:37:26 -0800

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris's Office Indicts 10 Alleged Members of BNT Gang

San Francisco Chronicle, March 1, 2010.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco grand jury indicted 10 alleged members of a Bayview-Hunters Point gang that has been linked to three homicides, including the slaying of a man in July in front of his girlfriend, mother and his three children.

In announcing a 30-count indictment - which was handed down Thursday but sealed as police tried to arrest the suspects - District Attorney Kamala Harris said authorities had "decapitated" the gang, known as BNT.

"These folks thought that we were not going to remember what they did," Harris said.

According to police and prosecutors, 25 to 50 people are in the gang at any one time, ranging in age from 14 to about 25. The gang operates in an area along Third Street near Kirkwood Avenue, selling drugs to make money and intimidating foes through violence, authorities said.

Three of the defendants - Cecil Terrell, 23, Antoine Fowler, 25, and Clark Benson, 25 - were charged with murdering a one-time friend, 21-year-old Lloyd Randleston, on Oct. 13, 2006. After luring him to a secluded area and asking him if he had stolen a gun from the gang, Fowler shot Randleston, prosecutors said.

Brian Yang, 20, was charged with murdering Gregory Chapman, a 46-year-old bus driver, during a robbery in 2008. Yang's fingerprint was allegedly found on the victim's sunglasses.

The case that pushed authorities toward convening a grand jury was the killing of 28-year-old Delvon Fields on July 16 as he drove with his family near Third Street.

According to prosecutors, 22-year-old London Shaw shot him. Shaw was indicted for murder along with Missy Davis, 20, who is accused of driving a rented getaway car.

Police Officer Len Broberg, who led the investigation of BNT, recalled arriving at the scene of Fields' slaying to find the victim's 6-year-old son crying.

"He kept talking about how he had to watch his daddy die," Broberg said. "These guys have been acting with impunity. Each time they get away with something, they get emboldened."

Police arrested five people, including Shaw, soon after Fields was killed. But prosecutors with Harris' office declined to file charges, citing insufficient evidence.

The next month, investigators launched the wider probe into the gang, which led to 77 witnesses testifying in front of the grand jury over three months.

Shaw did not have to be arrested after the indictment. He is in custody in Sacramento, where authorities say he and another BNT member fatally shot a 26-year-old man in June - using the same gun that killed Fields.

Also charged in the indictment were Cyril Hanna, 22; Julius Rhodes, 19; James Talley, 22; and 24-year-old Thomas Sims III. Charges against them include robbery, drug dealing and conspiracy.

Police said Hanna and Davis remain at large, with most of the others scheduled to make a first court appearance Tuesday.

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VIDEO: SF Indicts Alleged Leaders of BNT Gang