Detroit's Seven Mile Bloods gang leader Billy Arnold gets life sentence in federal prison
Billy Arnold, 37, was the leader of the Seven Mile Bloods. He will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted on dozens of charges including murder.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A 37-year-old man who was the leader of a Detroit street gang will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted on at least two counts of murder and dozens of other charges.
Billy Arnold was convicted in a federal court on 22 counts including murder, racketeering, RICO conspiracy, and firearms offenses in federal court this past December after a trial that last six weeks.
This week, he was back in front of a judge where he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
According to evidence presented at trial, the Seven Mile Bloods operated on the city's east side, east of Gratiot and west Kelly between Seven and Eight Mile Roads. They referred to the neighborhood as the ‘Red Zone’ and also ‘4-8-2-0-Die’ – in reference to zip code of 48205.
During Arnold's trial, evidence showed that Arnold discussed a July 2014 murder that was part of an ongoing gang war between the Seven Mile Bloods and an alliance of other gangs from Detroit's east side.
Arnold, who was on parole at the time, encountered two rival gang members during a meeting at a parole office in Detroit. After the meeting, Arnold waited outside the parole office until the rival gang member left. Arnold followed the rival gang members and their two companions a short distance before opening fire, killing one of the victims and seriously injuring another.
After that murder, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said the Seven Mile Bloods and rival gangs began violently attacking each other and posted ‘hit lists' on social media. It boiled over in 2015 when Arnold killed one rival gang member and shot several others. One of Arnold’s victims, who was shot while taking his two young daughters for a walk, was paralyzed as a result of the shooting.
Arnold shot another victim, who was only 15 years old at the time of the shooting, while the victim was at his first day of work at a banquet hall in Roseville. Arnold shot the victim while attempting to murder a rival gang member who was standing near the victim in a parking lot.
The 15-year-old victim and the rival gang member survived the shooting. On September 26, 2015, Arnold and another Seven Mile Blood member were arrested following a high-speed chase in Detroit. Following the chase, law enforcement recovered an assault rifle from the vehicle that was used in one murder and several other shootings.
The investigation further resulted in the seizure of more than 20 firearms, including several high-powered assault rifles.
Related: 'Seven Mile Bloods' gang members sentenced for 'shooting war', feds say
Ison said the conviction and sentencing of Arnold sends a clear message to others as well as people who live in the city.
"The harshest sentences are reserved for the most serious crimes and criminals. They are reserved for people like Billy Arnold, who killed multiple people, tried to kill many others, and terrorized an entire community," said U.S. Attorney Ison. "With this sentence, Arnold’s victims received some small measure of justice. This sentence should also send a message to others. To those who commit acts of violence: We will not stand for it any longer. And, to the vast majority of the residents of the "Red Zone" and all over Detroit and the Eastern District of Michigan, who want nothing more than to live in peace: We have your back. We will be by your side, working every day to prevent violence from occurring. But when it does, we will stand with you then too. And we will use all of our resources to bring to justice those who don’t stop shooting."
Arnold is the 20th member or associate of the Seven Mile Bloods to have been convicted as a result of the investigation.