MACON, Ga. (WRBL) – On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced that a high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples and a leader with its parallel female organization, the Sisters of the Struggle, were both sentenced to prison for their involvement in a murderous conspiracy.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 35-year-old Philmon Deshawn Chambers aka “Dolla Phil,” from Atlanta, Georgia, received two consecutive life sentences along with an additional 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
Chambers was found guilty of the following offenses:
- Racketeer influenced and corruption organization (RICO) conspiracy
- Violent crime in aid of racketeering – murder
- Causing death of a person using a firearm
Another co-defendant in this case, 29-year-old Andrea Paige Browner aka “Drea,” from Athens, Georgia, was sentenced to two consecutive 30-year prison terms and five years of supervised release. During the trial, Browner was found guilty on the charges listed below:
- Racketeer influenced and corrupt organization (RICO) conspiracy
- Violent crime in aid of racketeering – murder
- Causing death of a person using a firearm
Two other co-defendants previously entered guilty pleas and will be sentenced on March 27 in Macon:
- Robert Maurice Carlisle aka “Different,” 37, from Lithonia, Georgia, pled guilty to racketeer influenced and corruption organization conspiracy on June 8, 2023, and faces the possibility of life in prison.
- Shabazz Larry Guidry, aka “Lil Larry,” 29, from Decatur, Georgia, pled guilty to racketeer influenced and corruption conspiracy on June 8, 2023, and faces up to life in prison.
One co-defendant, 35-year-old Lesley Chappell Green aka, “Grip,” from Stone Mountain was sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 20 after being convicted by a federal grand jury on a RICO charge on Aug. 17, 2023.
Based on court records and additional information provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Chambers held a “position of authority” within the Gangster Disciples criminal organization, which includes overseeing members with the “enforcement team.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the enforcement teams are tasked with disciplining other Gangster Disciples members for violation of gang rules through assault or murder. Co-defendant Green was a member of the enforcement team and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Green held the position of an assistant chief enforcer.
Evidence presented during the trial proved that on Dec. 10, 2018, Gangster Disciples member Walter Brown was killed in Athens, Georgia. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Chambers and Browner were seeking out revenge for Borwn’s death and believed three unidentified Athens residents were responsible for his death.
A couple of days later on Dec. 14, 2018, Browner met with Rodriquez Apollo Rucker from Athens at a downtown hotel in Athens. There, she learned that Rucker was related to one of the individuals she believed murdered Brown. Browner sent texts to Chambers, directing him to travel to the motel, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office said he did.
After arriving at the hotel, Chambers located Rucker followed him home, and killed Rucker. After Chambers completed his task, Browner alerted an associate with the Gangster Disciples that she and Chambers would leave town because law enforcement would be searching for them.
Browner was taken into custody a day later in Mt. Enterprise, Texas, but Chambers, who at the time was with Browner, managed to flee from law enforcement. Following the incident in Texas, Chambers became suspicious that someone was working with the authorities and focused his suspicions on Derick Ruff and Joshua Jackson. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that Ruff and Jackson were not working with law enforcement.
Chambers became convinced that Ruff and Jackson were “snitches” and directed Green, who held a subordinate position on the enforcement team at the time to murder Ruff and Jackson. Texts and intercepted phone calls between Chambers, Green, Carlisle and Guidry showed Ruff and Jackson were lured by Green into traveling from Athens to Lawrenceville, Georgia, to break into storage sheds and steal items.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the items were supposed to be sent to Chambers as “aid and assistance” since he was hiding from authorities in a Gangster Disciple safe house in Killeen, Texas. The trick worked and Ruff and Jackson were murdered on Dec. 19, 2018, and their bodies were found concealed in a storage unit on March 17, 2019, by police.
Additional text between Chambers, Green, Carlisle and Guidry revealed that they conspired to dispose of the victims’ bodies by burning or dumping them at a landfill. Law enforcement arrested all three before the plans were carried out.
FBI Athens Resident Agency Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and the Gwinnett County Police Department are investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and trial attorney Kenneth Kaplan are prosecuting the case.
