CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three convicted gang members tied to a high-profile murder-for-hire plot were give a life sentence in federal court on Monday.
Nana Adoma, Randall Hankins, and Ahkeem McDonald are members of the United Blood Nation, the group behind the 2014 slayings of Lake Wylie couple Doug and Debbie London.
The trio was convicted of helping those who fired the shots.
Several other gang members have already been sentenced in the case.
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Jamell Cureton orchestrated the killings from his jail cell to prevent the Londons from testifying against him in a robbery case at their mattress store.
Malcolm Hartley shot and killed the couple at their Lake Wylie home.
Cureton and Hartley are both serving life sentences.
The judge told Adoma, Hankins and McDonald Monday that it was sad to see young people joining gangs and throwing away their lives.
McDonald’s attorney said they don't believe he received a fair trial.
“Big thing with him is we genuinely feel there was insufficient evidence as it relates specifically to him,” attorney Reggie McKnight said.
The judge rejected their attempts to get a new trial.
He said it's sad to see gangs prey on impressionable young people, leading them to violence and criminal conspiracy.
The gang members' attorneys said they plan to appeal the sentences. They have 14 days to file their appeals.
The judge agreed to request that all three be allowed to serve their sentences as close to Charlotte as possible.
He also noted that they all had mental health and substance abuse problems and should receive treatment in prison.