5 alleged gang members plead guilty in connection with London mu - | WBTV Charlotte

Five reputed gang members pleaded guilty Tuesday for their role in a racketeering and conspiracy case involving the 2014 shooting deaths of Doug and Debbie London.

Prosecutors say the Londons were gunned down in their home to keep them from testifying against three United Blood Nation members in an earlier robbery case.

Guilty pleas were entered in U.S. District Court in Charlotte on Tuesday for the following defendants:

? David “Flames” Fudge of Pineville. He drove the get-away car after a failed robbery of the Londons’ mattress store and took an active role planning the London killings, prosecutors say.

? Rahkeem “Hitman” McDonald of Charlotte. He buried the murder weapon and destroyed other evidence, prosecutors say.

? Ibn “IB” Kornegay of Greenville, N.C. He is a top UBN leader from eastern North Carolina, prosecutors say.

? Centrilia “CeCe” Leach of Charlotte. She photographed Debbie London at a court hearing as part of the gang’s plan, prosecutors say.

? Daquan “Day Day” Everett of Charlotte. He hosted a celebration of the Londons’ killings at his home, prosecutors say.

None of the five were at the Londons’ home when the couple was killed, but they played roles before or afterward, prosecutors have said. Their pleas are the most significant development in the case in months, raising the possibility that other plea agreements could be announced soon for some of the remaining defendants.

McDonald, 23, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the aid of racketeering for helping plan the hits on the Londons. McDonald also entered a guilty plea on a racketeering conspiracy charge.

Each murder count carries a possible death penalty while the racketeering charge has a maximum penalty of life in prison. Prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.

Fudge pleaded guilty to the same murder and racketeering charges as McDonald, plus he pleaded guilty to the mattress store robbery.

Kornegay, 36, pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy charge, as did Leach and Everett. They each face a possible life sentence.

All of the defendants will be sentenced later.

The Londons were found shot to death in their Lake Wylie, S.C., home a year ago this week.

Prosecutors say they were stalked and eventually murdered near the front door of their home on Oct. 23, 2014, to keep Doug London from testifying against three UBN members who tried to rob the couple’s Pineville mattress store that May.

Twelve suspected UBN members or associates were indicted earlier this year in connection with the killings, including Jamell “Assassin” Cureton and Malcolm “Bloody Silent” Hartley, both of Charlotte. Cureton and Hartley still face a possible death sentence.

Cureton, 23, planned the hit from his cell in the Mecklenburg County Jail and then used jail phones to iron out last details, investigators say in court documents. Doug London shot and wounded him during the attempted mattress-store robbery.

Hartley is accused of shooting both Londons at Cureton’s request.

Cureton and Ahkeem “Lil Keem” McDonald, Rahkeem’s brother, also face murder charges linked to the 2013 execution-style death of Kwamne Clyburn, a homeless teenager from Winston-Salem whose body was found in a park off South Tryon Street. Prosecutors say Clyburn was tied up and shot multiple times for falsely claiming he was a member of the gang.

UBN, an East Coast affiliate of the better known Bloods, has strong criminal ties in Charlotte. Authorities estimate the gang has more than 460 members in Mecklenburg County.

Researcher Maria David contributed