Nashville Gangster Gets 18 Years

NASHVILLE, TN — A 23-year-old member of the Bloods street gang will spend 18 years in federal prisons after pleading guilty to numerous drug and gun crimes in the James Cayce Homes

Maurice Donnell Williams, also known as "Reecy," was sentenced Wednesday. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2017 and pleaded guilty in May of this year. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Williams was convicted at the state level in 2012 for facilitation of aggravated robbery and in 2014 he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Williams was sentenced to prison on these charges and was released in March 2016.

In October 2016, Williams was arrested by MNPD officers after fleeing a traffic stop near the East Community Center. While fleeing from police, Williams discarded a jacket holding a loaded Kel-Tec 9mm pistol, cocaine, marijuana and digital scales.

On December 28, 2016, while out on bond for the October arrest, Williams was once again arrested in the Cayce Homes area, after Nashville police officers found him with a loaded Ruger pistol in his pants.

Officers had been monitoring surveillance cameras in the area after a Facebook Live video was forwarded to the Mayor’s Office showing several youths with multiple firearms in the Cayce Homes area. After this arrest, Williams again posted bond and was released from custody.

A subsequent review of Williams’ charges and criminal history, as part of a joint effort by local and federal law enforcement to reduce violent crime in public housing areas, resulted in the federal indictment. Williams was held in federal custody without bond.

“Williams’ prior arrests and convictions over the years obviously did not dissuade him from continued criminal activity, which put persons in the Cayce community at risk,” MNPD Chief Steve Anderson said. “I am grateful to the United States Attorney’s Office and the ATF for their valued partnership as we address violent felons who pose a danger to our citizens.”

Image via MNPD