Die Young: July 2016

by Ran Britt

Quasand Daniell Lewis was born in 1972 in Ipsilanti, Michigan, located 37 miles outside of Detroit.

In 1990, Lewis, who'd gotten the nickname "Q", was arrested and convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Though he faced a potential 20-30 years, his attorney, Steven Fishman, secured him a 3-year sentence. Following his release, Lewis served an additional 4 months in prison after violating his probation

Lewis' cousin, who was six years his junior and had grown up in the same area, was basketball stand-out Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor, six years his junior. His nickname stemmed from his 6'8" frame and 300-lb weight. Traylor earned a full athletic scholarship to the University of Michigan after leading Philip J. Murray-Wright High School to a championship. Lewis attended Traylor's first game as a Wolverine -- U. of M's 1995 season exhibition opener. He'd gotten his ticket from the Michigan coaching staff for free as a "friend of the program", which is not a violation of NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) rules. Traylor broke a backboard as a result of slam-dunking the ball during a game as a freshman, and in his third year at Michigan, was named the Big Ten Tournament MVP.

Lewis' drug network included: long-time girlfriend Saeeda "Sis" Walker, who acted as Lewis' second-in-command and oversaw his operation in Detroit; her brother, Edward "John Lemon" Walker, who was one of Lewis' lieutenants and led one of his distribution teams; Robin "Slick" Wilson, Edward's lieutenant, who collected money; McKinley Tigner, one of Lewis' lieutenants; Ray "Red" Amerson, a distributor and stash house manager; Lavert "Vito" Dafney, one of Lewis' lieutenants; Lamont "L-Boogy" Daunielle Paris, Lewis' chief enforcer; Leon "Cone" Pierce, an enforcer; Jason "Jay" Anderson, an enforcer; David "Baby D" Watson, who collected money; Marc "Mark King" Saldate; Jason "Jay" Taylor; Brian "Cuz" Smith; Jeffrey "Willow" Redmond; Kahkuyan Brewer; Adam Douglass; Tulani Dismuke, who collected money; Serina "Rene" Monique-Yvonne Farrell, a distributor; Patricia "Auntie" Kay Guyton; Sergio Alejandro Corella, a courier; Rodolfo Arrevalo-Guzman; and Giovanni "G" Ruanova.

In 1997, Lewis, Amerson and other members of his narcotics group traveled to Los Angeles, California to purchase cocaine. However, the funds Lewis intended to use to make payment, $484,000 in cash, were seized by police. At the time, Amerson was still serving a 24-month probation for a felony drug conviction in Charlotte, North Carolina in June of that year. He'd moved to Charlotte with his ex-wife after serving five years in prison for a cocaine and weapon conviction in May of 1991. He was arrested again on February 24, 1998 for cocaine trafficking and sentenced to 35-42 months.

Traylor elected to forgo his senior of college and on June 24 of that year, he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks as the sixth overall pick in the NBA draft. Dallas immediately traded Traylor's draft rights to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he earned an estimated $969,400 in his first season in the NBA. Lewis moved to the upscale West Bloomfield suburb, where he became neighbors with Traylor. Lewis also maintained homes in Canton, Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia and Fontana, California. He'd also considered purchasing a $500,000 home in France.

Robert "Tractor" Traylor

In 2002, Lewis formed a partnership with the more flamboyant Tommie Lee Hodges because Hodges had tractor-trailers and drivers in his employ. Hodges and Lewis' system involved transporting high quantities of marijuana, up to 3,000-pound loads, to Detroit from Arizona, via tractor-trailers. Upon arrival, the marijuana would be delivered to warehouses, and later shipped via box van to various distribution sites, including private homes, within an hour. Lewis eventually expanded from the Detroit area to California, Ohio, Oklahoma, Georgia and Arizona, where he obtained marijuana wholesale. Hodges' business peaked in 2002, when he shipped an estimated 18,144 kilograms of marijuana to Detroit between January and October alone. He treated himself with the purchase of a yacht. Though profitable, the Lewis-Hodges partnership eventually devolved into a violent rivalry.

In September of 2002, Lewis was shot as he was exiting a bar. Two weeks later, Mckinley Tigner, was shot to death.

Hodges, who was at his peak in 2002, shipped an estimated 18,144 kilograms of marijuana to Detroit between January and October of that year alone.
On October 15, 2002, $384,954 in cash was seized from associates of Hodges by the Pima County Sheriff's Office in Arizona. The cash was payment for marijuana delivered to Detroit.

In 2003, Lewis-enforcer Jamil “Cone” Carter (also known as Leon Pierce) was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense. One of the arresting officers testified that Carter said that he would have shot the officers had there been fewer present.

On April 12, 2003, Lewis' chief enforcer, Lamont Daunielle Paris, and Rhashi Ali Harris opened fire on Hodges, who was sitting in his Mercedes Benz with girlfriend and passenger Meleta Miller outside of Detroit nightclub, Tiffany’s, with semi-automatic rifles. According to two parking lot attendants who were present during the shooting, the vehicle sped off while still being shot at but stopped at a traffic light, at which point Miller fled the car and ran. Hodges then emerged from the car and returned fire in the direction of the club. Darryl White, a nightclub employee, and one of the 15 people standing nearby, was shot in the cornea but survived. Both Paris and Harris were arrested near the scene following a police chase through surrounding neighborhoods. Following a search of the area, police retrieved two discarded handguns and a bulletproof vest. Harris, who was on parole at the time of the shooting, was wearing a bulletproof vest when the two were arrested. Police also found two semi-automatic rifles, ten spent shell casings and magazines containing live rounds in the parking lot across the street. At least one witness said that Paris and Harris emerged from a van parked in the lot across from Tiffany’s and opened fire on Hodges five minutes after he parked in front of the club. In 2004, Harris was convicted of three counts of assault with intent to murder, intentional discharge of a weapon at an occupied structure, being a felon in possession of a firearm, wearing body armor during the commission of a violent crime, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to 50 t0 75 years for each assault with intent to murder convictions, 40 months to 5 years for the felon in possession of a firearm conviction, 32 months to 4 years for the body armor conviction, 32 months to 4 years for the discharge of a weapon at a building conviction, and two years for the possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony conviction.

In July of 2003, Hodges half-brother was killed in a drive-by shooting. Due to the violent rivalry with Lewis, Hodges traveled in a van outfitted with bulletproof glass. Federal investigators ultimately traced four house fire bombings and 11 homicides to Lewis' war with Hodges.

DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) agents raided a Detroit home linked to Hodges on August 19 and seized two handguns, $26,120 in cash in plain view on the living room table and floor and a notebook containing information regarding marijuana sales. A triple beam scale, an electronic scale and Ziplock bags containing marijuana were found in the basement. Agents also seized $7,620 in cash from Hodges-associate Leonard Shoulders, who was in the home at the time. On September 19, several handguns and $290,000 in cash was seized from Hodges' $1.1 million mansion in Saint Claire Shores, Michigan by DEA agents, troopers of the Michigan State police Homicide Task Force and officers of the Detroit Police Department. Hodges reportedly had attempted to hide some of the money by throwing garbage bags filled with $300,000 in cash onto the roof.

In December, Ray Amerson was convicted of delivery/manufacture of marijuana and sentenced to 5 months in jail. Meanwhile, Traylor, who'd earned an estimated $11 million playing in the NBA, allowed Lewis to purchase two Detroit apartment complexes for $3.8 million in his name in what prosecutors describe as an attempt to launder money. Traylor declared a loss of $205,668 on both complexes on his 2004 income tax return.

On March 18, 2004, the desk clerk of the Studio Plus hotel in suburban Novi, Michigan was alerted by a frantic, Spanish-speaking woman that someone had been assaulted and killed in one of the two rooms she occupied. When police arrived, the woman pointed them to large suitcases and duffle bags. No victim or body was found, but the bags did contain what turned out to be $3.4 million in cash. The woman then insisted that the body was in the room above. After a search of that room, police still failed to find a body but did discover approximately a pound of marijuana, cell phones, computer files and ledgers containing information regarding drugs. Michigan's SONIC agency (South Oakland Narcotics Intelligence Consortium) working in conjunction with the DEA discovered a link between the cash, the woman, Mexican National Annette Sanchez-Aguirre, and two men who were tracked to a residence in Northville, Michigan. An additional $1,395,668 in cash placed in duffle bags was seized at the home, and the two men, along with Sanchez-Aguirre, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Until that point, the DEA had been unfamiliar with Lewis, but Sanchez-Aguirre was revealed to be a drug courier linked to Lewis, as well as the girlfriend of Mexican-born Giovanni Gayosso Ruanova, who allegedly oversaw marijuana deliveries to Michigan and collected cash shipments sent back to Arizona. Investigators estimated that Lewis had in excess of 17,000 pounds of marijuana delivered to Detroit between January 20 and February 9 alone.

The Novi seizures led to a Title III wiretap probe and the launch of a multi-agency (joint) investigation, dubbed “Operation Falling Star”, into the activities of what law enforcement referred to as the Lewis organization. The investigation would ultimately span 16 months and involve 19 agencies, including: the DEA; FBI; IRS; ICE; United States Attorney’s Office; the United States Marshals Service; and various local police agencies, including the Detroit and Novi Police Departments.

On May 4, 2004, 4,000 pounds of marijuana were seized by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents from Lavert “Vito” Dafney, after he left a Detroit warehouse. Before being arrested, Dafney led officers on a high-speed chase, during which a firearm was thrown out of the vehicle. He and two others fled on foot before Dafney was arrested. Another 70 pounds of marijuana was recovered from the vehicle. That same month, $1,768,069 in cash stored in duffle bags was seized from Ruanova by Oklahoma Highway Patrol during a traffic stop.

On July 15, Lewis and Dafney were surveilled from Michigan to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. After being dropped off, Lewis attempted to board a plane using an alias. He was arrested, extradited to Detroit and incarcerated in Wayne County Jail.

In August, $1,456,492 in cash was seized from one of Lewis' couriers, Sergio Alejandro Corella, by Ohio State Patrol when officers discovered the money hidden in a spare tire following a traffic stop. Corella, who’d been arrested in Pima County, Arizona on three counts of transportation of marijuana that same year, told Ohio police his name was Walter Arlequin-Sanchez and was released. The Nogales, AZ-born Corella had posted bond following his Arizona arrest and subsequently fled.

Annette Sanchez-Aguirre

That November, 2,018 pounds of marijuana were seized from a home in Detroit by DEA agents. On December 5, two suitcases containing $845,415 in cash was seized from a courier, who’d been given the money by Ruanova, by the Dearborn Police Department following a traffic stop. Meanwhile, 580 pounds of marijuana was seized from another home in Detroit by the Detroit Police Department.

On January 17, 2005, two suitcases containing $1,001,960 in cash was seized from courier Adam Douglass by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department following a traffic stop. According to wiretap evidence, Douglas was intercepted en route to deliver the money to Ruanova. The next month, 2,200 pounds of marijuana was seized by the Arizona Department of Public Safety following the traffic stop of a semi-trailer occupied by a Lewis associate. Also in February, $2,734,096 in cash was seized from two Lewis associates by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department when deputies discovered the money hidden inside two semi-truck tires following a traffic stop of a tractor-trailer.

Also in January, Hodges was indicted by a federal grand jury. The eight-count indictment included: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana; conspiracy to launder monetary instruments; engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity; felon in possession of a firearm; and interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises. According to court records, Hodges had an estimated 46,357.92 kilograms of marijuana shipped to Detroit, overall.

On February 18, the stash house managed by Amerson was robbed of $19,000 and an AK-47 assault rifle. Saeeda Walker later placed a $50,000 bounty on two local men suspected of the robbery.

On April 20, 2005, Hodges pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. On October 3, 2007, he received a sentence of 150 months in prison as a result of his plea deal – 143 fewer months than he potentially faced.

On April 23, postal employee Marcus Smith survived a 2 a.m. shooting outside of a post office during which he sustained two gunshots to the neck. Smith was targeted because Lewis was under the impression that he was a family member of Hodges. Three days prior to Smith’s shooting, one of his co-workers, Deborah Robinson, was heard on a wiretap providing Smith’s physical description, license plate number and work hours to her friend, Saeeda Walker. Shortly after getting Smith’s information from Robinson, Walker was recorded on a wiretap with Lewis and Jamil Carter, strategizing Smith’s shooting.

Giovanni Gayosso Ruanova

On July 13, a federal grand jury indicted Lewis and 22 others with various federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Besides Lewis, the indictment named: Saeeda Walker; Edward Walker; Robin Wilson; Leon Pierce; Lavert Dafney; Jason Anderson; Tulani Dismuke; Ray Amerson; Marc Saldate; Serina Farrell; Jason Taylor; David Watson; Brian Smith; Israel Corral; Giovanni Ruanova; Jeffrey Redmond; Walter Arlequin-Sanchez; Kaykuyan Brewer; Rodolfo Arevalo-Guzman; Adam Douglass; Annette Sanchez; and Patricia Guyton. Lewis himself was charged with operating a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors estimated Lewis’ organization’s gross proceeds from marijuana alone to be in excess of $178 million annually. He was also alleged to have received 17,000 pounds of marijuana with an estimated retail value of $17 million in February of 2004 alone. At his peak, Lewis supplied 50% of the marijuana that entered Detroit. Though he wasn't charged with any murders, federal investigators linked him to a dozen homicides.

The first to be apprehended was Dafney, who was arrested at 6:30 a.m. on July 18 in his hotel room at the Sandcastle Suites at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. That same day, Dafney’s home in Canton, Michigan, which was purchased by Lewis, was searched. Federal agents seized more than $10,000 in cash, drug ledgers, and a money counter. Agents also recovered various firearms, including two Glock .40 semi-automatic handguns, an H&K high-powered rifle, a .44 magnum revolver and a Thunder Five revolver, which uses shotgun shell rounds. According to the government, Dafney oversaw incoming shipments of marijuana and payment collection for high-level manager Saeeda Walker. He was charged with conspiracy to distribute and distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and three counts of use of a telephone to facilitate a drug conspiracy. Dafney had previously been arrested in 2000 in Arizona driving a vehicle purchased by Lewis. Dafney was also accused of attempting to murder Robin Wilson, who acted as a manager for the organization, when Wilson himself called fellow Lewis-associate Edward Walker and blamed Dafney immediately following his March 9, 2005 shooting. Wilson asserted that Dafney was the only member of the organization who knew his home address, which he’d visited several times to collect drug money. Wilson was seated in his Dodge Magnum, outside of his home when two men opened fire on him with AK-47 assault rifles. He drove the car in reverse and crashed. Though he was shot, he still managed to escape. Following his arrest on July 19, Wilson told investigators that he was unarmed at the time of the shooting because his Magnum had no place to hide a handgun. He said that he would have returned fire had he been armed.

On July 25, Lewis was surveilled from Michigan to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. After being dropped off, Lewis attempted to board a plane to Atlanta using an alias. He was arrested, extradited to Detroit and incarcerated in Wayne County Jail. Seventeen other suspects named in the indictment were arrested the same day during a nationwide sweep that spanned six states. Lewis-associate Will F. Ulmer was arrested and charged with one federal count of conspiring to distribute marijuana. During a raid in Canton, Michigan, conducted by members of the Troy Police Department’s Tactical Support Team, officers seized a loaded .308 caliber semi-automatic rifle discovered set on a bi-pod and aimed down a stairwell. Novi, Michigan Police Chief Doug Shaeffer described the raids as the largest drug bust in Detroit history. The government seized five hundred pounds of marijuana, between $300,000 and $500,000 in cash, 41 firearms, a limousine, a Mercedes, a Corvette and Wilson’s bullet-riddled Dodge Magnum – in one day alone in July from the organization

Israel “Chapo” Corral was named in the indictment as a supplier to the organization and Mexican cartel-affiliate. Marc Saldate allegedly introduced suppliers to organization members in Detroit. Sergio Alejandro Corella (Walter Arlequin-Sanchez), named as a courier for the organization, allegedly transported cash payments to marijuana suppliers in Arizona. According to court records, he delivered over $1.4 million in cash back from Detroit in 2004 alone.

Robin Wilson pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments on December 15, 2005. As part of his plea deal he agreed to forfeit $2.1 million in cash, two pieces of real estate, a diamond watch, his 2005 Corvette, a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass and two firearms. On February 7, 2008, Wilson was sentenced to 96 months in prison instead of the probation department’s recommended sentence of 188 to 235 months. He was sent to FCI Gilmer (Federal Correctional Institution, Gilmer), a medium-security federal prison in central West Virginia, and later to FCI Sandstone (Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone), a low-security federal prison located in Sandstone, Minnesota, to serve his time. Saeeda Walker was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in federal prison and her brother, Edward, was sentenced to ten.

Israel "Chapo" Corral

On April 12, 2006, Lewis pleaded guilty to narcotics trafficking and money laundering. His plea deal included his voluntary forfeiture of over $9.5 million in various assets, including $2,734,096 in cash, bank accounts, real estate, motor vehicles and jewelry. Though he faced a potential 22-year term, he was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison on December 11. Lewis was sent to FCC Coleman (Federal Correctional Complex) in Sumter County, Florida, located approximately 50 miles northwest of Orlando. He's scheduled to be released in 2024.

After being placed on the Michigan's Most Wanted list and profiled on the November 11, 2006 airing of the television program America's Most Wanted (24), Lamont Paris was arrested after the program received information from an anonymous source. The show received an e-mail stating that he'd been seen in Belleville, Michigan, located 29 miles southwest of Detroit. DEA agents, U.S. Marshals and officers from the Belleville and Troy Police Departments apprehended Paris after his license plate was traced to a Belleville address, where he was arrested. Paris was eventually tried in connection to the 2003 nightclub shooting and convicted of three counts of assault with intent to murder, discharge of a weapon at a building, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Prior to the shooting, Paris’ criminal record already contained charges for felon in possession of a firearm, multiple counts of assault with intent to murder, felonious assault, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, assault and battery, and malicious destruction of property. He was sentenced to 50 to 70 years for each assault with intent to murder conviction, two to six years for the discharge of a weapon at a building conviction, three to seven years in prison for the felon in possession of a firearm conviction, and five years for the possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony conviction.

In January of 2007, the U.S. Marshal’s Service announced that Sergio Alejandro Corella had had cosmetic surgery on his nose, traveled with a four bodyguards and was believed to be residing in the city of Nogales, in the Mexican state of Sonora.

That same month, Traylor entered a plea of guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Though he faced a potential 14 months of prison time, he was sentenced to three years of probation. The sentence stipulated that he serve the first six months in confinement -- the first half in a halfway house and the rest under house arrest. The terms of his plea bargain allowed him to serve his time in the offseason. Traylor was also made to provide the IRS with any unfiled federal income tax returns within 90 days.

Ruanova and Sanchez were both profiled on a November 3, 2007 episode of the series “America’s Most Wanted”, as the two had yet to be apprehended.

Nogales, Mexico-born Lewis-associates Israel “Chapo” Corral, Giovanni Ruanova and Annette Sanchez, have been classified as fugitives, and are still being sought by the U.S. Marshals Service. Of the 23 co-conspirators named in the 2005 federal indictment, all of the other 20 have pleaded guilty and none have gone to trial.

Ultimately, the government seized more than $15 million in cash and over 25 tons of marijuana from Lewis' organization.

Traylor, who'd undergone surgery on his aorta in 2005, (2) died of a heart attack in San Juan, Puerto Rico on May 11, 2011. Traylor had been living in Puerto Rico since that March when he'd begun playing for the local Bayamon Cowboys basketball team. San Juan police found Traylor on the bedroom floor of his oceanfront apartment after his wife notified team officials that she'd been talking to him by phone from Chicago when the line was suddenly disconnected.

In 2015, Corral was apprehended in Los Reyes, Mexico, where he'd been working as a car salesman. In July of of the following year, he was extradited to the U.S. An Interpol investigation revealed that Corral had been arranging the transport of high-volume thousand-pound marijuana shipments from Arizona to Detroit. On November 27, 2016, Sanchez was apprehended after crossing the U.S./Mexican border into Douglas, Arizona.

Lewis was released from federal prison in March of 2019.