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Anatomy of a gang murdering one of its own

By , Daily Memphian Updated: June 10, 2025 10:49 AM CT | Published: June 09, 2025 4:00 AM CT

The 2019 murder of a Memphis gang leader set off a gunfight with a rival gang the night he was killed, which then led to another murder within the gang that had lost its leader.

The 2019 death of one-time Vice Lords chief Ronald Terry also triggered prison lockdowns across the state, exposed cracks in the myth of gang codes and played out in court against the backdrop of political changes in the U.S. Justice Department.

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Vincent Grant Unknown Vice Lords Ghost Mob gang violence Subscriber Only

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Bill Dries

Bill Dries

Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.

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