Seven Mile Bloods gang leader, guilty of 2 murders, sentenced to life in prison
A leader of the Seven Mile Bloods gang, which federal prosecutors describe as "one of the more notoriously violent and menacing street gangs in recent Detroit history," will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Billy Arnold, 37, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Sean Cox after federal prosecutors said a jury convicted him in December of 22 counts, including two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, nearly a dozen counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, as well as racketeering conspiracy and multiple firearms offenses.
He is known as "B-Man" and "Killa," per court documents, and prosecutors said he was one of the gang's founders, leaders and enforcers.
"Arnold wasn't just a shooter, he also distributed drugs with his fellow SMB gang members, intimidated witnesses, and fostered and encouraged a culture of violence that devastated the community," federal prosecutors wrote in their 33-page sentencing memorandum that requested life in prison on the murder cases and 100 years on the non-life offenses.
20 convictions related to Seven Mile Bloods
Arnold's attorneys wrote an 85-page sentencing memorandum, essentially a biography of his life and of the lives of some family members. They wrote that for most of his childhood and adolescence, Arnold lived in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods and beginning in elementary school, he and his friends faced "consistent, if not daily pressure from gangs." They asked the court to impose a sentence "sufficient but not greater than necessary."
Prosecutors painted a different picture, writing that Arnold was a three-time convicted felon by the age of 20 and his alleged traumatic childhood "does not excuse the choices he made to victimize and terrorize others."
Arnold was the 20th member or associate of the Seven Mile Bloods gang to be convicted, prosecutors said.
"The harshest sentences are reserved for the most serious crimes and criminals. They are reserved for people like Billy Arnold, who killed multiple people, tried to kill many others and terrorized an entire community," U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a release. "With this sentence, Arnold's victims received some small measure of justice."
4-8-2-0-Die
Prosecutors said the gang operated between Gratiot Avenue and Kelly Road and between Seven and Eight Mile roads. Members referred to the area as the "Red Zone" and "4-8-2-0-Die," as the ZIP code is 48205. They said it had an ongoing war with an alliance of other gangs on the city's east side stemming from a murder Arnold is accused of committing in July 2014.
Prosecutors said Arnold, who was on parole at that time, encountered two rival gang members during a meeting at a parole office in Detroit. He waited outside until the rivals left and followed them and their two companions a short distance before opening fire, killing one and seriously injuring another.
The gang and its rivals violently attacked one another and posted "hit lists" on social media, prosecutors said.
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They said the violence reached a boiling point in 2015 when Arnold killed one rival gang member and shot several others in a one-month span.
Per the prosecutors' sentencing memorandum, the murders and attempted murders were "premeditated and were part of Arnold's and SMB's planned acts of vengeance against rival gang members." They wrote that Arnold engaged in drug dealing not only in the Red Zone, but also in opioid trafficking in West Virginia.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Feds: Leader of notorious Detroit gang to spend rest of life in prison
