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FBI Indicts 28 Members And Affiliates Of West End Gang 'GBK'

Catherine Policicchio
/
FBI
U.S. Attorney Scott Brady announces the indictments of 28 members and affiliates of the gang "GBK" at a press conference on Wednesday, June 20, 2018.

A nine month-long FBI wiretap investigation resulted in the indictments of 28 Western Pennsylvania residents Wednesday morning. According to officials, they were members or associates of the West End gang "GBK" -- the Greenway Block Killers.

Special Agent in Charge Bob Jones said members of the group have long criminal histories and peddled large amounts of cocaine and heroin in the region.

"This group is believed to be responsible for a series of criminal violations to include murder, shootings, burglaries [and] robberies," Jones said.

U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said all 18 suspects are in custody. Mark Givens, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was the final suspect to turn himself in on Monday, June 25. 

"What we try to do in any federal investigation is remove the entire operation," Brady said. "To the best of our ability, we tried to take down that entire gang and leadership structure."

Brady says there are an estimated 50 remaining neighborhood gangs in Pittsburgh, with up to 2,000 total members.

GBK has been active in Pittsburgh since at least the 1990s, according to Police Chief Scott Schubert. Their base has historically been the former Greenway projects of Crafton Heights.

*This story was updated at 4:39 p.m. on June 25, 2018 to reflect that all three of the suspects who had not been arrested, Bryan Smith, Mark Givens and Lawrence Morrison have turned themselves into the FBI.