Gangster Disciples Member Indicted For 2007 Clarksville Murder

A federal grand jury in Nashville, Tennessee returned a superseding indictment today, charging a Gangster Disciples member with murder in aid of racketeering and use of a firearm resulting in death, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran, for the Middle District of Tennessee, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Marcus S. Watson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Nashville Field Division.

Rex Andrew Whitlock, aka Stackhouse, 33, of Clarksville, Tennessee, is charged in a 45-count superseding indictment.  Whitlock is already in custody in connection with this investigation, having been indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges in June 2017 and on federal racketeering charges in December 2017.     

“This superseding indictment reflects the government’s ongoing efforts to hold the Gangster Disciples organization accountable for acts of violence in Middle Tennessee over the past decade,” said U.S. Attorney Cochran. “By this prosecution, we also seek to bring closure to the family of a victim of gang violence in Clarksville and justice to the community that suffered as a result of this crime. As this investigation continues, we will continue to bring charges like these whenever the evidence permits.” 

“According to today’s superseding indictment, Gangster Disciples member Rex Andrew Whitlock allegedly laid in wait for a member of a rival gang outside a gas station in Clarksville, followed him down the street, and murdered him,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting gangs like the Gangster Disciples and to eradicating the scourge of violence that this gang and others like it have inflicted on too many communities.”

“This superseding indictment highlights our commitment to vigorously investigate those criminal gangs who terrorize our neighborhoods,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge, Marcus S. Watson.  “All citizens have an absolute right to feel safe in their respective communities. ATF and its partners are committed to investigating and removing those individuals who illegally possess firearms and commit crimes.”

According to the superseding indictment, Whitlock and other members of the Gangster Disciples waited outside Dodge’s Chicken, a gas station in Clarksville, in the early morning hours of September 1, 2007. Whitlock and other Gangster Disciples then followed a member of the rival Bloods gang as he left Dodge’s Chicken and drove down Tobacco Road in Clarksville, at which time Whitlock shot and killed him.

If convicted, Whitlock potentially faces imposition of the death penalty.

This extensive investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; the Clarksville Police Department; the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office; the Murfreesboro Police Department; the Gallatin Police Department; the Kentucky State Police; and the 19th Judicial District Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Ben Schrader and U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney Ivana Nizich are prosecuting the case. 

An indictment is merely an accusation.  All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.