Vice Lords gang chief killed in Memphis, sparking fears of violence statewide

The former local kingpin of the nationwide Vice Lords street gang was executed while he sat in a white Cadillac in Memphis last week, sparking fears among law enforcement officials that violence could break out across Tennessee and inside the state’s prisons.

Ronald Terry, 49, once alleged to be the leader of the Memphis branch of the Chicago-based Vice Lords, was found shot to death along with a female companion, Candid Sanders, 36, on Thursday afternoon. A Memphis Police Department spokesperson said the investigation is active and she could not share other details.

On the day of the shooting, the Tennessee Department of Corrections locked down every prison in the state "due to information received from external law enforcement partners," according to a statement.

The restrictions were lifted at some prisons a day later, but others remained locked down as of Saturday. South Central Correctional Facility in Clifton remains locked down pending an investigation into fights that broke out Thursday evening, according to Amanda Gilchrist, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, the private company that runs the facility.
Image: Ronald Terry
Ronald Terry was killed in Memphis on Jan. 10, 2018.Memphis Police Dept.
Around 8 p.m. Thursday, there were two separate "inmate-on-inmate assaults" at the prison, Gilchrist said in a statement. Six prisoners and four correctional officers were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Gilchrist did not respond to NBC News’ questions about potential gang links in the violence.
An alert also went out late last week to officials across the state warning law enforcement and correctional officers to be vigilant. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was "requested to provide a situational awareness message to law enforcement agencies for general officer safety," TBI spokesman Josh DeVine told NBC News by email. "There was no specific threat."

DeVine would not specify the agency that requested the alert, citing ongoing investigations.
Officials from three counties in different parts of the state, stretching from Memphis to Morgan County, Tennessee, 350 miles east, told NBC News they had heard but could not confirm that the caution was linked to the Terry murder. Other local officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The scene where police found Terry and Sanders shot dead inside a car in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 10, 2019.
The scene where police found Terry and Sanders shot dead inside a car in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 10, 2019.WMC5
On Facebook, law enforcement officers from across Tennessee began sharing a post that said calls had been intercepted between two state correctional facilities indicating that the "Vice Lord gang has put out a hit on all TN Law Enforcement and Corrections," according to a post from a 911 dispatcher in Cumberland County.
A Department of Correction spokesperson said the warning did not come from prison officials.
"The [post] is inaccurate," said TDOC spokesperson Neysa Taylor," in the same way that chain letters are inaccurate or ‘you’ve won the London lottery’ emails are inaccurate."

In Memphis, which has one of the highest per-capita murder rates in the country, officers are "accustomed to dealing with issues like this," said Michael Williams, president of the Memphis Police Association, who said he had received the alert from fellow law enforcement officials.
Memphis police are investigating the deadly shooting of Phil Trenary, the President and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber.
Memphis police are investigating the deadly shooting of Phil Trenary, the President and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, on Sept. 28, 2018.WMC
"We want officers to be vigilant, but not hyper vigilant," he added. "We still want you to treat the community the same."


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