Three Alleged Fayette County Gang Members Indicted for Hardeman County Murders
A superseding indictment has been returned by a federal grand jury charging three men, Michael Hobson, 30, and Tomarcus Baskerville, 34, of Somerville, Tennessee, and Christopher Peeler, 31, of Moscow, Tennessee, with committing murder in aid of racketeering and causing death using a firearm. The charges arise from a 2015 Hardeman County murder.
The indictment includes charges for six separate shootings, two murders, and four attempted murders in Hardeman County. As a result of these crimes, nine individuals were shot, and two of those victims died. Each of the defendants is being detained.
According to U.S. Attorney Ritz, as well as the charges and information presented in court, in 2022, a federal grand jury indicted 14 alleged members and associates of the Traveling Vice Lord/Junk Yard Dog gang on various racketeering charges, including murder, attempted murders, and narcotic trafficking. This superseding indictment adds charges for a second murder and includes Michael Hobson as an alleged gang member and offender.
“We applaud the diligent and thorough work of our special agents and law enforcement partners and are grateful for the continued work of the U.S. Attorney in ensuring the individuals responsible for this deadly and devastating string of organized crime, throughout West Tennessee, will be held accountable for every criminal act they have committed,” said TBI Director David Rausch.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, and the Hardeman County Sheriff’s Department.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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