NEW BOSTON, Texas–A founding member of Texarkana-based street gang Loyalty Cash Business pleaded guilty Tuesday to money laundering in connection with organized criminal activity.
A jury of eight men and four women is expected to hear testimony regarding the punishment Van Dmarcreus Grissom, aka “Red,” should receive in the range of 15 to 99 years or life in prison beginning Wednesday morning at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston. The jury was selected Tuesday in proceedings before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
Banking records cannot be intimidated or otherwise influenced; they speak for themselves. That is likely why the state opted to move forward with the money laundering case before others facing Grissom, 35, including engaging in organized criminal activity to commit aggravated assault with serious bodily injury. Grissom’s jury is also expected to hear testimony that the gang’s highest-level members recruited out-of-town men to carry out multiple murders in the Texarkana area.
LCB Co-founder Courtney Hope aka “Bloc,” 35, pleaded guilty in December to engaging in organized criminal activity in exchange for a 40-year sentence.
Grissom and Courtney have admitted through their pleas of guilty that the gang formed multiple business entities which are registered with the Texas Secretary of State, including R&B Trucking, H&H Trucking and Hope’s Hauling to make it appear that money earned from drug trafficking and other illegal dealings was legitimate. According to court records, the gang used a commercial truck to move pounds of marijuana and U.S. currency between Texarkana and states like California, Washington and Oregon.
“Courtney Hope and Van Grissom are the leaders of the organization, and this criminal street gang primarily makes money by selling narcotics and by stealing through theft, burglary, or robbery,” court records state. “LCB uses extreme acts of violence to carry out the business of the gang. This criminal behavior would include, but not be limited to, murder, robbery, burglary, assault, weapons charges, deadly conduct, terroristic threats, tampering with witnesses, tampering with evidence, narcotics trafficking and gambling.”
Court records indicate the jury may see social media evidence gleaned from the accounts of Grissom and Hope and other alleged LCB gang members as well as valuable jewelry crafted in gold and diamonds with the LCB gang’s initials and photos of LCB gang tattoos.
Money laundering over $300,000 is a first-degree felony in the Lone Star State typically punishable by five to 99 years or life in a Texas prison. Because the offense occurred while participating in organized crime, the punishment range’s minimum increases to 15 years under state law.
Representing the state in Grissom’s prosecution are First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp and Assistant District Attorney Bradley Akins. Grissom is represented by Heath Hyde of Heath Hyde PC.
