Brandon Durell Hardison, 35, served as the gang’s chief enforcer in Clarksville Tennessee and was part of it’s so-called “blackout squad,” a notorious hitman group.Â
Among the crimes he was convicted for was one from 2012, when Hardison was tasked with killing an associate for failing to repay a drug debt. “He then shot and killed the associate’s girlfriend, who was a witness to the murder, to prevent her from talking to law enforcement,” the DOJ said. Â
Later that same year, Hardison killed a member of the rival Bloods gang at a shootout inside a nightclub in Clarksville, Tennessee.Â
Hardison was among 12 others indicted by a grand jury for their association with the gang after a decade-long investigation by U.S. law enforcement. Five defendants were previously convicted after trial in 2019 and the other six pleaded guilty of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges, drug trafficking and other offenses.Â
“Today’s verdict marks the end of a decade of violence and lawlessness inflicted upon our communities by ruthless gang members,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee.Â
The investigation resulted in charges against 32 gang members and associates, including the 12 in the RICO indictment, she explained.Â
“This conviction removed one of Clarksville’s most violent criminals from the streets,” said Mickey French, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Nashville Field Division.
The Gangster Disciples was formed in the late 1960s as a merger between two Chicago gangs: the Supreme Gangsters and the Black Disciples. At the height of their power, they operated across 110 cities in 31 states and engaged in everything from drug trafficking and grand theft auto, to money laundering and prostitiution.
