Three Gang Members Convicted of Firearm Offenses and Carjacking

RALEIGH, N.C. – Last week, three defendants from Wilson, Johnston, and Pitt Counties were convicted of firearms and carjacking charges. Kenneth “Smoke” Piper and Eric Cruz Pineda pleaded guilty last week to Carjacking and Brandishing a Firearm during a Crime of Violence.  On Friday, a federal jury convicted Allen “Slim” Martin Smith of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. All three are validated Gangsters Disciples members.

"Two of these defendants, Piper and Pineda, brazenly stole a car and kidnapped victims up with a sawed-off shotgun,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.  “Later, Piper and Smith led police on a high-speed chase across three counties.  Thanks to local law enforcement’s coordinated efforts, all three will face serious federal sentences.  The public is safer with these violent gang members behind bars.”

According to court records, on December 11, 2020, Piper and Pineda carjacked and kidnapped two male subjects in Wilson, North Carolina, over a drug debt. Piper and Pineda each brandished shotguns during the carjacking and assaulted both victims. Additionally, both Piper and Pineda forced the victims to strip down to ensure that neither had stolen drugs from the pair. Finally, Piper and Pineda forced both victims back into one of the victim’s cars and began driving them to an unknown location when a Wilson Police officer observed the group driving in downtown Wilson. Observing the two victims in the vehicle without any clothes, the police officer initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. Pineda was driving the vehicle and Piper was seated in the backseat with a sawed-off shotgun pointed at one of the victims. Additional Wilson Police officers arrived on scene and arrested both Pineda and Piper. At the time, Pineda was on state parole. A search of the vehicle revealed the victims’ wallets, clothing, and belongings in the trunk of the vehicle with Pineda’s shotgun. 

According to court records and evidence presented at the trial, on the morning of February 21, 2022, deputies with the Wilson and Johnston County Sheriff’s Offices were conducting active surveillance on Piper and Smith, two wanted fugitives, in Micro, North Carolina. Piper was out on bond for the carjacking charges when an arrest warrant was issued for drug charges stemming from a separate incident on February 14, 2021. Smith was on parole but had removed his ankle monitor. Officers observed the pair enter a vehicle and drive away from a trailer park. As officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the pair sped off and took law enforcement on a high-speed chase across three counties before crashing in La Grange, North Carolina.  Piper and Smith then fled the vehicle and dropped a Hi Point .9mm pistol. The firearm was recovered by the Lenoir County K9 officers.

Following the manhunt for Smith and Piper, Kinston Police found Smith and arrested him. After Smith was arrested, he waived his Miranda Rights and admitted to law enforcement that he had fled from police with Piper and that there was a gun in the car. A short time later, the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office received anonymously a Snapchat video that Smith had recorded of himself and Piper inside the car during the high-speed chase. In the video, Smith and Piper are seen pointing the gun at the camera, with Smith saying, “No, no, no - you can’t catch me - I’m the Gingerbread man.” Piper was arrested the next day.

Smith faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison when sentenced. Piper and Pineda face minimum sentences of 7 years and maximum sentences of life imprisonment.  All three are scheduled to be sentenced in March of next year.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III accepted the verdict and pleas. The Wilson and Kinston Police Departments, The Wilson, Johnston and Lenoir County Sheriff’s Offices, and The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the cases and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aakash Singh and Leonard Champaign prosecuted the cases.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:21-cr-00106-D.

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