A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to five life sentences plus an additional 50 years in prison for his involvement in a violent crime spree, including his commission of four murders, multiple attempted murders, robbery, attempted robbery and firearms offenses stemming from his involvement in the Nine Trey Gangsters, a street gang affiliated with the United Blood Nation.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia, Attorney General of Virginia Mark R. Herring, Special Agent in Charge Martin Culbreath of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Interim Chief of Portsmouth Police Angela Greene, Chief of Norfolk Police Larry D. Boone, Chief of Virginia Beach Police James A. Cervera, Chief of Chesapeake Police Col. K.L. Wright and Chief of Suffolk Police Thomas E. Bennett made the announcement.

According to court documents, Nathaniel Tyree Mitchell, aka Savage, 26, was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), four counts of murder, in violation of the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Act (VICAR), six counts of VICAR attempted murder, five counts of VICAR assault with a dangerous weapon and a number of other firearms offenses related to those shootings before Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation Billy Club. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Trial Attorney Teresa A. Wallbaum of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla, Andrew C. Bosse and John F. Butler of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.