ROANOKE, Va. – Prosecutors are requesting a 37-year prison sentence be imposed on a former Roanoke gang leader, who they say is responsible for the deaths of two young men, one of who was just 17 years old.
As we’ve previously reported, in Nov. 2021, Sean Denzel Guerrant, also known as “Denk,” “Dink” and “Harlem Denk,” admitted to leading the Rollin’ 30s Crips in Roanoke, a subset of the national street gang that was founded in Los Angeles, California.
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During the hearing, the 31-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and the conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering including responsibility for a murder. He also pleaded guilty to a separate count involving a conspiracy to murder a separate victim.
The details that led to the murder of 17-year-old Nicholas Lee back in 2017 are as follows:
- In 2017, Guerrant, the self-admitted leader, began recruiting members into the Roanoke set of the Rollin’ 30s. It operated primarily in Northwest Roanoke and centered in and around the Lansdowne neighborhood, according to the Department of Justice.
- Officials say the street gang was responsible for multiple criminal acts in the Roanoke area such as the distribution of controlled substances, acts of violence that included murder and trafficking in firearms.
- Trayvone Raycron Kasey, Chauncey Dion Levesy, and Demonte Rashod Mack, who are co-defendants in this case, were among those recruited into the gang.
- Lee and Desmond Florence, notably young at the time, were recruited as well. Sources indicate that on June 14, 2017, Guerrant ordered Lee to kill Desmond for his perceived disloyalty to the gang. However, when Lee didn’t carry out the order, Mack and Kasey were instructed to kill him, a sentencing memorandum details.
- On June 15, 2017, Kasey, Levesy and Mack reportedly shot Lee in the back.
- In 2018, four other members were indicted on the conspiracy to commit murder.
Now, prosecutors are seeking a 37-year prison sentence that is pursuant to a plea agreement reached on Nov. 2021 after Guerrant admitted to his role in the murder of Lee and pleaded guilty to the charges that were previously mentioned.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday, prosecutors claimed that the sentence would “reflect the seriousness of the offense,” while “affording adequate deterrence to criminal conduct” and protecting the community from further crimes committed by Guerrant.
Additionally, the sentencing memorandum detailed Guerrant’s history and gave insight into his background.
According to officials, Guerrant had an extensive school disciplinary record, including an expulsion from Stonewall Jackson Middle School for setting a fire, loud outbursts in class, stealing $118 from a teacher’s purse and several more incidents depicting a tragic childhood.
The memorandum states that his mother, Angela Guerrant, who passed away in January 2021, was a drug addict who was incarcerated from the time Guerrant was five years old until he turned 10.
Prosecutors say if he is eligible to do so, the RDAP program within the Bureau of Prisons would offer a chance for Guerrant to escape from the clutches of his past.
“Such treatment will allow Guerrant to perhaps become the father he needs to become for the benefit of his now four-year-old son giving him the necessary tools to finally live his life free of controlled substance,” the memorandum reads.
Guerrant is slated to appear in court on Aug. 3 at 10 a.m.
