In the late summer of 2016, the life of Christopher Lamont Motley, a 33-year-old Black man from Danville, Virginia, was tragically cut short in a hail of gunfire. On the night of August 21, 2016, Motley was an innocent victim, caught in the crossfire of a violent gang war that had been brewing in the city. He was a passenger in a van driven by his friend, Justion Wilson, when they unwittingly drove into a meticulously planned ambush.
Neither man was the intended target, and neither had any affiliation with the street gangs whose feud would ultimately claim Motley’s life.
The events leading to that fatal night were rooted in a turf war between the Rollin' 60s Crips and a rival gang known as the Billys. The leader of the Danville chapter of the Rollin' 60s Crips, Marcus Jay Davis, had orchestrated a plan to retaliate against the Billys. In the days leading up to the shooting, members of the Rollin' 60s Crips and an allied gang, the Milla Bloods, held meetings to conspire to murder a high-ranking member of the Billys. Their plan was to lure their rival to the Southwyck Apartments, where they would be waiting. On the evening of the shooting, numerous armed gang members strategically positioned themselves around the apartment complex, lying in wait for their target to appear. When the van carrying Motley and Wilson entered the area, the gang members mistook it for their rival’s vehicle and unleashed a barrage of bullets. In the ensuing chaos, Christopher Motley was struck and killed, while Justion Wilson miraculously escaped unharmed.
The investigation into Motley’s death would unravel a complex criminal enterprise, leading to a sweeping federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations indictment against numerous members of the Rollin' 60s Crips and their associates. The indictment detailed a pattern of violent criminal activity that included murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking. In the aftermath of the investigation, several individuals faced federal charges for their roles in the criminal organization and the violence it perpetrated.
Marcus Jay Davis, the leader who orchestrated the plot, was ultimately convicted by a federal jury for his role in the racketeering conspiracy, which included the murder of Christopher Motley. Another member of the gang, Shabba Larun Chandler, was also charged with Motley’s murder and the use of a firearm during the commission of the crime. The federal case also saw guilty pleas from several other individuals connected to the Rollin' 60s Crips' activities, including Matthew Ferguson, Jaquan Trent, Laquante Tarvares Adams, and Shanicqua Coleman, who admitted to various offenses under the broad umbrella of the RICO indictment. The extensive federal prosecution served to dismantle a significant portion of the gang's operations in Danville, bringing a measure of justice for the senseless death of an innocent man.
