DENVER—Three men, Tracy Morgan (aka Tre
Dog), age 41, of Denver; Killiu Ford (aka Caveman), age 38, of Aurora; and
Augustus Sanford (aka Turk), age 34, of Denver, were found guilty late
yesterday afternoon of kidnapping and related charges following a six-day trial
before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn. The jury deliberated for
an entire day before returning their unanimous guilty verdicts on all counts.
No sentencing date has yet been set.
The three defendants, Morgan, Ford, and
Sanford, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on August 3, 2011.
Their jury trial started on June 11, 2012. The jury returned their guilty
verdicts on June 21, 2012.
The jury found that the defendants
committed crimes including kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap.
According to the indictment, as well as
information presented during the trial, on September 22, 2009, within the state
and District of Colorado, the defendants did willfully and unlawfully seize,
confine, kidnap, abduct, and carry away an adult male victim, an adult female
victim, and two juvenile victims, holding them for ransom and reward, and using
a cell phone, the Internet, and a Global Positioning System (GPS) in the
process.
From August 2009 through September 23,
2009, the three defendants knowingly and intentionally conspired with each
other and others known and unknown to the grand jury to kidnap and rob the male
victim. It was the primary object of the conspiracy to kidnap and rob the male
victim with the assistance of a GPS tracking system installed on the victim’s
car. In furtherance of the conspiracy, the defendants discussed their plans
with others, purchased a GPS tracker on the Internet, and called the adult
victim requesting a delivery of cocaine so that Morgan and Ford could attach
the tracker to the victim’s car. At some point during September 2009, the male
victim received a call requesting the delivery of the cocaine. During the
delivery of the cocaine, the defendants attached the GPS tracker to the
victim’s car. For the next few weeks, Morgan and Ford monitored the vehicle’s
movement by using a computer to follow the tracker. Through use of the
monitoring, the defendants were able to determine where the victim and his
family lived, as well as his habits and patterns.
Prior to leaving to carry out the
robbery, Morgan, Ford, and Sanford assembled at an unindicted co-conspirator’s
house. Sanford was wearing a stolen Denver Police Department uniform that he
had obtained from a juvenile whose father was a Denver police officer, in exchange
for marijuana. All of the defendants brought guns to use during the robbery.
Before leaving the house, the defendants used a computer to determine the
location of the victim by use of the tracker. After the defendants left, Morgan
called the unindicted co-conspirator several times to ask him to check the
computer for the current location of the victim. On the last call, Morgan was
given the location.
At approximately 11 p.m. on September
22, 2009, the defendants located the victim in Edgewater, Colorado. As the male
victim and his wife placed their two young daughters into car seats in the rear
of their car, the defendants jumped out of their various vehicles, with their
guns drawn, and announced they were the police. One man ordered the male victim’s
wife at gunpoint into the passenger seat of her car, and he then got into the
driver’s seat. The gunman then drove the adult female victim and her two
children to their home in Thornton, Colorado. When they arrived at the home,
between three and five men entered the home, including all three defendants,
and began ransacking the house. They demanded that the female victim show them
where the drugs and money were inside the residence.
When the female victim denied knowing
anything about drugs or money, Morgan ordered one of the men to grab one of the
female victim’s young daughters. The man carried juvenile one up the stairs,
and Morgan pointed a gun at juvenile one’s head. At that, point the adult
female victim pointed out where money was hidden, and the men grabbed
approximately $30,000 in cash. They then fled in different vehicles. The men in
Sanford’s vehicle stopped along 104th Avenue in Thornton and pushed the male
victim out of the car and onto the side of the road before pulling away.
The defendants were also found guilty of
possessing firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence, which in
this case was the kidnapping.
“Three kidnappers are going to serve
lengthy prison sentences thanks to the hard work of the trial team as well as
the investigative work of the men and women of the Metro Gang Task Force,” said
U.S. Attorney John Walsh.
“The convictions are a tribute to the
outstanding work by the Metro Gang Task Force and the United States Attorney’s
Office,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge James Yacone. “These gang members
committed a series of premeditated violent crimes that terrorized their
victims. Working with our partners, the FBI and the Metro Gang Task Force will
continue to target gang members who jeopardize the safety of our communities.”
All three defendants face not less than
20 years, and not more than life imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine, for
two counts of kidnapping using a cell phone, the Internet, and a GPS. They also
face not less than 25 years, and not more than life imprisonment, and up to a
$250,000 fine, for two counts of kidnapping using a cell phone, the Internet
and a GPS. All three defendants face not more than life and up to a $250,000
fine for conspiring to kidnap and rob an individual. They all face not less
than seven years, and not more than life, for using a firearm during the
commission of a crime of violence, which must run consecutive to any other term
of imprisonment imposed.
This case was investigated by the Denver
Metro Gang Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of FBI, IRS, ICE-HSI,
Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Aurora Police Department, Colorado State Patrol,
Commerce City Police Department, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver
Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s
Office, and the Thornton Police Department. Members of the Colorado Joint
Counterdrug Task Force participated as well.
The defendants were prosecuted by Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Colleen Covell and Suneeta Hazra.
The Aurora and Denver Police
Departments, along with the FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force
(RMSSTF), are investigating two bank robberies, suspected of being committed by
the same individual.
The suspect is described as a black
male, 25 to 40 years of age, approximately 6’0” to 6’5” in height, 220 to 260
pounds, with a heavy build.
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