United States Attorney Scott N. Schools
  Northern District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              
March 7, 2007                                                                    

WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN                                         Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov        

CONTACT:  Luke Macaulay    
                       (415) 436-6757  

THREE DOWN BELOW GANG MEMBERS SENTENCED TO PRISON

SAN FRANCISCO - Three members of the Down Below Gang (DBG) - a violent street gang based in the Sunnydale Public Housing Project in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley neighborhood - were sentenced today for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. The sentences are as follows:

• Christopher Byes, age 26: sentenced to 6 years 5 months
• Ronnie Calloway, age 26: sentenced to 5 years and 10 months
• Allen Calloway, age 24: sentenced to one year and 9 months

Together, the defendants admitted to possessing numerous firearms in connection with the conspiracy to distribute narcotics. This sentence is the result of a joint investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Francisco Police Department.

The sentencing hearings for the other defendants in the case are scheduled as follows:

• Robert Calloway: March 13, 2007
• Dornell Ellis: March 21, 2007
• Don Johnson: March 28, 2007
• Paris Ragland: March 28, 2007
• Rickey Rollins: April 11, 2007
  

Robert Calloway, Dornell Ellis, Don Johnson, and Rickey Rollins have pleaded guilty to RICO charges and are facing sentences between 15 and 23 years.

For further information about this prosecution and the plea agreements, please see the prior press release at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/2006/2006_12_04_DownBelowGang.8guiltypleas.press.html

The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup. Judge Alsup also sentenced each of the defendants to three years of supervised release. The defendants are already in custody and will begin serving the sentences immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Cutler, C. David Hall, William Frentzen, Philip Kearney, and Trial Attorney Krista Tongring from the Department of Justice Organized Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case. Shane Verplanck and Kim Hopkins assisted in the prosecution. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office provided important assistance to the prosecution. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the San Francisco Sheriff's Department also contributed to the investigation and prosecution.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 05-00167 WHA

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov.