Names, details released in Native Mob indictment

Two individuals well known in the Mille Lacs area, Derrick Dewayne Williams, 20, and Codey Joseph Stone, 23, were named last week among 24 suspected Native Mob members indicted in federal court on Jan. 19.

The original six names released Jan. 24 included two Mille Lacs residents: Dale Wesley Ballinger, Jr., and Damien Beaulieu.

Ballinger, Beaulieu and Justen Poitra were arrested in the Mille Lacs area on Jan. 24 as part of a statewide effort to find and arrest the 24 who had been indicted.

Last week, Williams and Stone were transferred into federal custody. Williams had been incarcerated in the Mille Lacs County Jail. Stone was in jail elsewhere.

Indictment unsealed

The details of the federal charges were released last week and included specific incidents in which each of the 24 alleged gang members participated. Local gang members were named in the following incidents, among others:

• Oct. 8, 2006, Codey Joseph Stone assaulted a female with a fire arm, robbed a male victim with the firearm, possessed approximately 6 grams of “crack” cocaine, and threatened to kill rival gang members.

• Aug. 25, 2009, in South Minneapolis, Alex John Jones, a/k/a Bunz, Damien Lee Beaulieu, a/k/a Dames, a/k/a Damez, and Derrick Dewayne Williams, Jr., a/k/a DJ, possessed marijuana with the intent to distribute.

• Feb. 13, 2010, Ballinger met with seven other members “to discuss gang business and activities in furtherance of the enterprise.”

• March 1, 2010, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Stone threatened a witness who was cooperating in the investigation and prosecution of a fellow Native Mob member.

• On June 25, 2010, at Mille Lacs, Beaulieu yelled “Native Mob” then shot at an occupied home.

• On June 13, 2010, Stone, Williams, Beaulieu, Ballinger and six others met in South Minneapolis to discuss gang business.

• On June 20, 2010, in Pine County, Williams assaulted another victim with a .40 handgun and a bottle.

• On June 30, 2010, in South Minneapolis, Beaulieu, Ballinger and a third Native Mob member shot at rival gang members in a public park.

• On July 10, 2010, near Duluth, Williams, Beaulieu, Stone and Ballinger met with 10 others to discuss gang business, including killing enemies of the Native Mob, transportation of firearms from Northern Minnesota to South Minneapolis for use in assaults, drug trafficking, collecting money for incarcerated Native Mob members and identity of persons believed to be cooperating against the Native Mob.

• On Aug. 19, 2010, Beaulieu fired a .380 handgun at the occupied home of a rival gang member.

• On Sept. 9 and 25, 2010, in South Minneapolis, Beaulieu and others shot at the occupied homes of rival gang members.

• On Oct. 9, 2010, in South Minneapolis, Beaulieu, Williams, Ballinger and others assaulted another Native Mob member for cooperating with law enforcement.

• On Nov. 27, 2010, at the Indian Center in South Minneapolis, Beaulieu shot at rival gang members at the direction of Eduardo Lopez-Villarrubia, a/k/a Furry Ed, who is also named in the indictment.

• On Dec. 12, 2010, in St. Paul, Ballinger, Beaulieu, Williams and Stone met with 11 others named in the indictment.

• On Dec. 17, 2010, in Isle, Ballinger possessed a stolen .38 and ammunition.

Stone’s involvement in the gang is first mentioned in 2006.

Beaulieu and Williams were first mentioned in an incident from August of 2009. Ballinger’s name shows up in an incident from February of 2010.

The indictment also includes details of gang history, organization and protocol.

Leaders are called “Ogema,” which is Ojibwe for “chief.”

The gang has a war chief responsible for responding to external threats, a chief enforcer who metes out punishment to gang members, and a treasurer who distributes funds to members. The gang also has a “rep” for each geographic region, including South Minneapolis, Mille Lacs, White Earth, Red Lake, Duluth and Cass Lake.

Their regular meetings, called “council,” are held on the second Saturday of each month.

The gang uses Native American symbols like bear paws, feathers and medicine wheels and uses the term “fam” to refer to other members of the Native Mob.

Part of the gang’s activity involves providing money for members who are incarcerated, the indictment states.

The indictment charges that Wakinyon Wakan McArthur, a/k/a Kon, a/k/a Killa, wrote letters from prison in 2004 describing his plan for the Native Mob upon his release.

He also made a phone call in 2005 and wrote a letter in 2006 describing his plans and recruitment of new members in prison. In November of 2007, McArthur met in Cass Lake with others and ordered fellow members to shoot at a house where a rival gang member was located. The house was shot seven times with a 9mm handgun.

McArthur, 33, who has been considered the leader of the Native Mob since at least 2006, was arrested without incident last Wednesday, Feb. 1, in northeast Minneapolis.

The indictment also alleges the following regarding other suspects:

• On Oct. 27, 2009, in South Minneapolis, Shelby Boswell and Cory Oquist shot at members of a rival gang, hitting one in the leg, while yelling “Native Mob.”

• On March 4, 2010, William Earl Morris and Anthony Francis Cree attempted to murder a victim in Cass Lake for cooperating with law enforcement.

• On March 7, 2010, in South Minneapolis, Eduardo Lopez-Villarrubia, a/k/a Furry Ed, attempted to kill a Native Vice Lord gang member by shooting him.

• On July 20, 2010, in Crow Wing County, William Earl Morris, a/k/a Odie, threw a cup of boiling water in a victim’s face in retaliation for cooperation with law enforcement.

Local law enforcement agencies worked closely with the federal prosecutors throughout the investigation.

Mille Lacs County Attoney Jan Jude said, “We were in constant contact with the investigators and also worked with the U.S. Attorney’s office to make things as smooth as possible. We prepared extensive summaries for the team of investigators and the U.S. Attorney’s office to assist them in tracking each of the individuals that were part of their investigation.”

Mille Lacs County Sheriff Brent Lindgren gave credit to Mille Lacs Tribal Police for their central role in the investigation. “Everyone worked together over an extended period of time with coordination and cooperation,” Lindgren said. “It is nice to see and rewarding for everyone in the community to read about the results of operations like this when we are finished with the investigations and arrests are made and the judicial process begins their process of holding people accountable for their actions.”