Alleged Richmond Gang Members Convicted In Notorious 'Swerve Team' Crime Spree
MARTINEZ (CBS SF) -- Two alleged gang members have been convicted of murders, attempted murders and assaults for their roles in a Richmond crime spree by the notorious "Swerve Team", according to Contra Costa County prosecutors.
The Superior Court verdicts came on Wednesday for 24-year-old Marrico Williams and 23-year-old Torion Young, two of the alleged seven 'Swerve Team' members taken into custody in September 2016.
After a lengthy trial that lasted approximately eight months, jurors found Williams guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three assaults with a firearm, nine robberies, three burglaries, two carjackings, along with various enhancements.
Young was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of murder, four attempted, one assault with a firearm, one residential burglary, along with various enhancements.
There was a split jury verdict on a third alleged member 26-year-old Cardell Waters. He was found guilty of conspiracy to possess an illegal, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining counts against him.
Williams and Young face multiple 25-to-life sentences. The remaining case against Waters was scheduled for a future court date, but the D.A.'s office has yet to determine if he will be retried.
Over a six-month period in 2016, prosecutors said, members of the "Swerve Team" committed a string of violent crimes against rival gang members and innocent community members throughout Contra Costa County.
The crime spree ended on September 30, 2016, when Williams and fellow Swerve Team gang members were arrested following a high-speed chase through multiple cities, which ended in San Pablo.
Police searched the vehicle driven by Williams and found evidence from cell phones and camera images.
Williams, Young, Waters, and five other Swerve Team gang members were indicted in 2017 by a grand jury following a massive federal and state investigation centering on multiple shootings, including three homicides.
Five accepted plea deals and prison terms, while Waters, Williams and Young took their cases to trial.