CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Twelve suspected members of the United Bloods Nation gang in Charlotte are locked up and Channel 9 is learning more about where they may have lived before their arrests on Wednesday.
Officials: Accused gang member ordered killing of couple from jail
Although they are all accused of conspiring to commit crimes, the addresses listed for these accused gang members are spread all across the city and region.
One of them was enrolled at a local college leading many to ask what they all had in common and how they got involved with a gang in the first place.
The dozen people named in the case as members of the United Blood Nation, accused of crimes from racketeering to robbery and murder, are not from the same neighborhood.
Not all those areas are known for games.
Malcolm Hartley, accused in the murders of Douglas and Deborah London in Lake Wylie last October, lived in apartments off Pineville-Matthews Road in south Charlotte, according to indictments.
Nana Adoma, 20, has an address listed on McNinch Street in uptown.
Some were shocked to learn that.
"This looks like a nice (neighborhood)," Phil McCoy said. "I wouldn't think it would be like that over here."
Accused gang member Centrilia Leach, 31, was a student transferring to Central Piedmont Community College last fall and is currently enrolled for the spring semester.
Many wonder why someone would turn to a life of crime when they can attend school.
"The child is reaching out for attention and the gangs are the ones coming together," said Will Adams, Team TruBlue.
Members of anti-violence group Tru Blue said many people turn to gangs when they're young and often have a hard time getting out even if they want to.
They mentor children at a young age but say many face long odds.
"If you take all the resources out of the 'hoods' what's left for these children?" Charles Robinson, with Team TruBlue, said.
The accused could face life in prison and for some, the death penalty for the charges outlined in the indictment.
WSOC
