Two Houston gang leaders convicted at trial for ordering drive-by murder

HOUSTON, TX -- A federal jury has convicted the last of six members of the violent 103 street gang charged for ordering a retaliatory shooting that ended the life of an innocent bystander.

The jury returned the guilty verdicts Aug. 3 against Shaquille Richards, 32, and Alexandra Nicks, 32, both of Houston, for using a firearm to kill during a racketeering murder and murder in aid of racketeering.

“The gang war that these defendants engaged in plagued Houston’s Third Ward community for years,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Based on today’s convictions, these violent criminals are facing long prison sentences that will keep them off the streets of Houston and hold them accountable for the innocent life they took. The Department of Justice has zero tolerance for the scourge and societal ills caused by gang violence. We are aggressively prosecuting violent gang members and continuing to restore law and order to America’s cities.”

“The convictions of these two local career gang members are exactly the kind of results we hoped for when the DOJ launched the Violent Crimes Initiative in Houston,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson of the FBI Houston Field Office. “Too often, turf wars between violent neighborhood gangs claim innocent victims. When we leverage our federal resources and law enforcement partnerships, we not only double down on the war against violent crime happening on our streets and front yards, we also procure justice for entire communities terrorized by these criminals.”

Richards and Nicks were leaders of the violent 103 street gang that was involved in a gang war in the Third Ward with rival gang Young Scott Block, or YSB.

After numerous murders and shootings between the two gangs, Richards and Nicks ordered lower ranking members and associates of the 103 gang to retaliate by committing a drive-by shooting in YSB territory. On Oct. 16, 2017, fellow 103 gang members Deandre Watson, Mertroy Harris, Marcus Christopher, and Marquis Erskin drove to opposing gang territory to find a rival gang member to kill. They were armed with firearms containing numerous rounds of ammunition, including some loaded into 50 and 100-bullet drum magazines.

Watson, Harris, Erskin, and Christopher opened fire when they saw a rival gang member on a street corner. The intended target was shot but survived and ran away. A 53-year-old non-gang member was standing in the front yard of a residence, was shot, and died of his injuries.

The 103 members crashed their car into a ditch as they fled. Watson, Erskin, and Christopher then carjacked a woman who had an infant in her vehicle and fled the scene. Harris ran into the neighboring stores and discarded his firearm and clothing, but law enforcement arrested him shortly thereafter.

Jail phone calls, social media postings, and testimony showed that Richards and Nicks ordered the shooting and threatened to oust anyone in the gang who did not go looking for rivals to shoot.

U.S. District Judge George Hanks presided over the trial and will set sentencing at a later date. Watson, Harris, Christopher, and Erskin have each pleaded guilty and will be sentenced Sept. 2. All face up to life in prison at their respective hearings.

The FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Houston Police Department conducted the investigation with substantial assistance from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Zenon Matos and Anh-Khoa Tran prosecuted the case along with Trial Attorney Jodi Anton of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.

This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Houston. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute the violent offenders and prevent further violence in the Houston area.