MEMPHIS, TN – August 22, 2026 (STL.News) Three members of a Memphis-based gang have pleaded guilty to federal charges involving racketeering, armed robbery, firearms and drug trafficking as prosecutors continue a sweeping investigation that has resulted in charges against 20 people.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that Paul Nelson, 33; Edgar Smith, 40; and Cedric Jackson, 35, all of Memphis, entered guilty pleas in connection with the federal investigation of Young Mob, also known as Young Mob Military.
Federal authorities describe Young Mob as a violent criminal organization whose members and associates have been linked to murder, attempted murder, robbery and large-scale drug trafficking, including the distribution of fentanyl. The three defendants were charged as part of a broader federal investigation that produced multiple indictments against people allegedly associated with the gang.
Nelson faces the most serious potential punishment of the three. He pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to armed Hobbs Act robbery, using a firearm to cause death during a robbery and conspiring to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. He faces up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced Nov. 18.
Smith and Jackson each pleaded guilty Aug. 20 to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO. Each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Federal investigation targets Young Mob
The latest guilty pleas represent another stage in a federal effort to prosecute members and associates of Young Mob.
According to the Justice Department, 20 people from the Memphis area have been indicted on federal charges through the broader investigation.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the case reflects the department’s continuing effort to reduce violent crime in Memphis.
Duva said federal authorities have brought Young Mob members and associates before federal courts over offenses including murder, attempted murder, robbery and high-volume drug trafficking, including fentanyl.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee said the prosecutions have significantly disrupted the organization.
The federal cases are part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative in Memphis, which brings federal prosecutors together with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute violent offenders.
Paul Nelson admits role in armed restaurant robbery
Nelson, also known as “Big Paul” and “Paul Walk,” admitted involvement in a May 13, 2023, robbery at Tug’s Casual Grill in the Harbor Town area.
According to the Justice Department’s account of Nelson’s guilty plea, he and two Young Mob members targeted a rap musician who was affiliated with another Memphis musician described by prosecutors as a longtime rival of Young Mob.
The targeted man was sitting at an outdoor table with his girlfriend when Nelson and another participant approached.
The man ran from the table, and Nelson’s accomplice, who was carrying a rifle, pursued him.
The intended robbery victim was also armed. According to federal prosecutors, he shot Nelson’s accomplice in self-defense.
The accomplice was seriously wounded.
The Justice Department said Nelson, the wounded man, and co-defendant Jerrod Cox later left the injured accomplice in the parking lot of a fire station. The man subsequently died from his wounds.
Nelson’s guilty plea includes armed Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm to cause death during that robbery.
The Hobbs Act is a federal law that lets prosecutors pursue certain robbery and extortion offenses affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
Nelson also pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 18 and faces a potential maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The maximum statutory penalty does not necessarily represent the sentence that will ultimately be imposed. A federal judge will determine his sentence after considering applicable law and the federal sentencing guidelines.
Edgar Smith pleads guilty to RICO conspiracy
Smith, also known as “Chuck P” and “Chucky,” pleaded guilty August 20, 2026, to a RICO conspiracy charge.
RICO was enacted to give federal prosecutors tools to pursue criminal enterprises in which participants may commit different offenses while operating as part of the same organization.
Instead of treating every alleged robbery, shooting or drug transaction solely as an isolated event, a RICO prosecution can address a broader pattern of criminal activity connected to an enterprise.
As part of Smith’s plea, the Justice Department said he agreed that he and other members or associates of Young Mob would commit at least two racketeering acts.
Federal prosecutors said Smith agreed with other conspirators to commit attempted robbery and robbery on June 12, 2024, in violation of Tennessee law.
Smith also admitted involvement in a conspiracy involving fentanyl distribution, according to the Justice Department.
His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3.
Smith faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Cedric Jackson also admits to RICO conspiracy
Jackson, also known as “Ced,” entered his guilty plea the same day as Smith.
The 35-year-old Memphis man pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and admitted that he and other members or associates of the Young Mob enterprise agreed to engage in racketeering activity.
According to federal prosecutors, Jackson agreed with other conspirators that they would commit attempted robbery and robbery on June 11 and June 12, 2024.
Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4.
Like Smith, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The federal court will determine the actual sentences. Maximum statutory penalties should not be interpreted as predictions of the sentences the defendants will receive.
Earlier defendants already sentenced
The latest guilty pleas are not the first convictions to emerge from the Young Mob investigation.
Two co-defendants, Larry Wilson, also known as “L,” and Braxton Beck, also known as “B Mack,” previously pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy.
Federal prosecutors said both men admitted involvement in a June 11, 2024, attempted robbery and a June 12, 2024, robbery at a Memphis tattoo shop.
Beck was sentenced to 120 months, or 10 years, in federal prison.
Wilson received an 87-month sentence, equivalent to seven years and three months.
The Justice Department separately announced Wilson’s sentence in June, saying he admitted attempting and committing robbery and distributing methamphetamine as part of a pattern of racketeering activity connected with Young Mob. Prosecutors said several Young Mob members and associates robbed three customers at gunpoint at a Memphis tattoo shop in June 2024.
Those sentences provide additional context for the broader prosecution, although each defendant’s sentence depends on the crimes of conviction, individual conduct, criminal history and other factors considered by the federal court.
Fentanyl allegations add to federal case
Drug trafficking forms an important part of the federal government’s allegations involving Young Mob.
Nelson admitted conspiring to distribute both fentanyl and methamphetamine, while Smith admitted involvement in fentanyl distribution as part of his RICO conspiracy.
Fentanyl cases have become a major focus for federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies because of the drug’s potency and its role in fatal overdoses across the United States.
In the Young Mob investigation, however, prosecutors are using drug allegations alongside robbery, firearms, and racketeering charges to build cases against individuals they identify as members or associates of the same criminal enterprise.
The federal approach allows prosecutors to pursue different forms of alleged criminal activity under a larger organized-crime investigation rather than relying exclusively on individual street-level prosecutions.
ATF and Memphis police investigate
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Memphis Police Department and the Multiagency Gang Unit are investigating the Young Mob case.
Trial Attorneys Brian P. Leaming and Amanda Kotula of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
The Violent Crime and Racketeering Section is the Justice Department unit responsible for a range of organized-crime and gang prosecutions. The section traces its current structure to a 2010 merger involving the former Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, Gang Unit and National Gang Targeting, Enforcement & Coordination Center.
The Young Mob prosecution also falls under the Criminal Division’s broader Violent Crime Initiative in Memphis.
According to the Justice Department, federal authorities and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee are working with state and local agencies to use federal statutes and resources against people accused or convicted of serious violent offenses.
Federal gang prosecutions continue in Memphis
The Young Mob case is one of several major federal gang prosecutions pursued in the Memphis area.
Earlier this year, three Memphis men were sentenced after a jury convicted them in a Young Mob-related fentanyl trafficking case. Darius Moore received 210 months in federal prison, while Mervin Anderson was sentenced to 150 months and Mario Gardner received 51 months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
Federal authorities have also pursued other Memphis organizations through racketeering laws. In May, two Unknown Vice Lords members were each sentenced to 50 years in prison following convictions in a gang-related murder case.
Those prosecutions illustrate the federal government’s continuing use of RICO, firearms, narcotics and violent-crime statutes to target organized gang activity in the region.
Sentencings scheduled for November and December
The next major developments in the cases against Nelson, Smith and Jackson will come at sentencing.
Nelson is scheduled to appear for sentencing Nov. 18 and faces up to life imprisonment.
Smith’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3, while Jackson’s is scheduled for Dec. 4.
Unlike defendants who have merely been indicted, Nelson, Smith and Jackson have now entered guilty pleas. Their guilt on those offenses therefore is no longer an allegation awaiting trial.
The wider Young Mob investigation has produced federal charges against 20 people from the Memphis area, according to the Justice Department, making the prosecution a significant component of the government’s current violent-crime enforcement effort in Memphis.
The investigation remains a multiagency effort involving federal and Memphis-area law enforcement.
NOTE: Congratulations to the DOJ. Thank you!
