14 members of Detroit's Playboy Gangster Crips gang arrested for slew of crimes
DETROIT (WJBK) - More than a dozen members of a northwest Detroit gang have been indicted and arrested for a stack of crimes from murder to drug trafficking.
Court records indicate the Playboy Gangster Crips (PGC) have been accused of murder, drug crimes, robbery, carjacking and more between 2010 and 2017.
Also referred to as the Thirty-Third Gangstas or the Trey Trey Gangstas, the PGC claim a section of northwest Detroit as their territory - specifically the area of Seven Mile Road between Lahser and Evergreen.
The PGC operates under a sort of hierarchy: the Original Gangster (OG), and under that, there are four ranks -- Original Baby Gangster (OBG), Young Baby Gangster (YBG), Baby Gangster (BG) and Tiny Gangster (TG). A member's ranking depends on seniority and how much criminal work the person has committed on behalf of the gang.
Donning navy blue bandannas called "flags," PGC members boast their gang-related activity on social media and even have their own language, replacing the letter "K" with a "C" because they are associated with the Crips, and also refrain from using the letter "B" because it's associated with their rival gang, the Bloods. Rivals also include the Vice Lords, Band Crew and Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips.
Regular meetings consist of discussions on crime, gang rivalries and collecting dues from members. Their main source of income is selling drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, prescription pills, supplemented will illegal gun sales, carjackings and robberies.
Home base for selling drugs included the Sunoco gas station on the corner of Seven Mile and Braile, and vacant homes called "trap houses" on Trinity. The OG decides how the money will be spent, including buying guns, more drugs or sending money to members in prison.
The following members have been indicted:
Jvon Clements - "Toon"
Winston Hill - "Shady Blue"
Dawon Taylor - "J-9"
Ron Benson Jr. - "Duke"
Devante Crockett - "TBK"
Deshaun Tisdale - "Havoc"
Davon Moultrie - "Blue"
Deondre Casey - "Trouble"
Andre Tinsley - "Danger"
Dangelo Davis - "Black"
Recharl Boynton - "Bear"
Anthony Marshall - "Hitman"
Nathaniel Brown - "Nino"
Darryl Grizzard - "Deezy"
The indictment lists a total of 72 documented offenses, including Dawon Taylor selling an AK-47 on Facebook for $200 in March 2010 and Ron Benson and Andre Tinsley shot a victim in front of the Apollo Market on West Seven Mile in December 2011.
Another listed says Andrew Tinsley selling a .380 caliber handgun for $275 with the following text: "I bkang my set TTG P.B.G.C.^ 33rd if yall didn't kno im DVNG3R Coripppp" in October 2011. The alleged crimes continue until Sept. 1, 2017.
The indictment was a group effort between federal, Michigan and Detroit-area officials.