Two Portsmouth men plead guilty to gang activities

NORFOLK

Two Portsmouth men have pleaded guilty to crimes associated with their activities with the Bounty Hunter Bloods / Nine Tech Gangsters.

Kiwanii Edward Mosley, 23, pleaded guilty in federal court today to racketeering activity that included murder, attempted murder, home invasion, robbery and conspiring to distribute controlled substances, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to court documents cited in the news release, Mosley and another member of the gang participated in a home invasion in Portsmouth. During the robbery, three people were shot. John and Ronald Trollinger died at the scene; the third person was shot and played dead. The injured man is disabled as a result of his wounds. A fourth person ran out of the back of the house while shots were being fired. That person was not injured.

Mosley was also involved in an attempted home invasion in Suffolk, but went to the wrong apartment and was chased off by armed neighbors who responded to a woman’s screams. The news release said he was also involved in other robberies and the distribution of illegal narcotics.

Draindell Domonta Bassett Jr., 23, also pleaded guilty in federal court today in Norfolk. He pleaded guilty to racketeering activity that included conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and conspiring to distribute controlled substances, the news release said.

The news release cited court documents that indicated Bassett was one of several gang members involved in an ongoing feud with a rival gang member in the Crips street gang in the spring of 2006. After a Crips gang member shot several people in Bassett’s gang, Bassett and other gang members searched for a rival member to kill. The spotted him in the Burbage Grant area of Suffolk. They chased him, armed with a knife, but he got into a stranger’s vehicle and directed her to drive away. The gang members caught up to the vehicle before it could drive away and kicked dents into the doors as they tried to drag the Crips gang member out. The vehicle did speed away and the Crips member was able to escape without harm.

Bassett is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 21, and Mosley is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5. They each face a maximum penalty of life in prison.