‘It wrecks communities:’ High-profile Jacksonville gang members sentenced to 30 years in prison

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Marquez Johnson, 35, and younger brother Rashad Johnson, 32, were sentenced to 30 years in prison today.

The brothers were leaders in a criminal gang, Twelve Hundred, a subset of the Out East gang, who worked to traffic drugs and recruit other young men, State Attorney Melissa Nelson said Wednesday after the men were sentenced.

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Their feuds with other local gangs have led to several shootings, deaths, and multiple drug-related crimes in the Jacksonville area.

Nelson’s office decided to focus on them as a drug network because that is the gang’s main source of income.

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“Now that they’re no longer in that community, it’s that much better, ” L. E. Hutton, Chief Assistant State Attorney, said.

Members from Nelson’s office said that they sought the 30-year sentence due to the length of the investigation into a high-profile criminal gang.

Lauren Anderson, Assistant State Attorney, said that the brothers have been documented as gang members since 2010.

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In Marquez Johnson’s arrest report, he was arrested on 10 drug-related charges, including possession, and trafficking.

Gang violence “wrecks communities” and is one of the most prominent threats to public safety, Nelson said.

“It wrecks families and they recruit younger members, so it is perpetuating,” she said.

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