Three Gang Members Convicted for Their Roles in a Murder

A federal jury convicted three members of the Hoover Criminal Gang yesterday for their roles in the murder of a suspected rival gang member.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Markell Young, 32; Octavius Ferguson, 27; and Jordan Powell, 25, all of Gibson County, Tennessee, were members of a sub-set of the Hoover Criminal Gang known as the 83rd or Eight Tray. This violent criminal street gang operated throughout Tennessee, California, and elsewhere, and was engaged in racketeering activities including murder, robberies, and the trafficking of marijuana and cocaine.

On Jan. 31, 2017, the defendants murdered a suspected member of the rival Gangster Disciples gang in Humboldt, Tennessee, in retaliation for a shooting against a member of the Hoover Criminal Gang. Young ordered Ferguson, Powell, and co-defendants Bakari Lenon and Monterio Ross to commit the murder, which they carried out by going to the victim’s home and shooting several firearms indiscriminately through the open front door, killing the victim.

The jury convicted Young of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and Ferguson and Powell of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and causing death by use of a firearm during and relation to a crime of violence. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20. Young faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, and Ferguson and Powell each face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The two additional defendants, Lenon and Ross, pleaded guilty in October 2023 for their roles in the homicide and were each sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Nashville Field Division made the announcement.

The FBI, ATF, West Tennessee Drug Task Force, Humboldt Police Department, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigations investigated the case.

Trial Attorney César S. Rivera-Giraud of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary Parham for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.