12 suspected members of the Top-6 gang who prosecutors said terrorized Palm Beach County residents
Jessee Thomas, 22, and Ernst Exavier, 25, were convicted by a jury in December on criminal racketeering charges brought by Attorney General Bill McCollum's office as part of a regional law enforcement effort last year to crack down on gangs. Thomas also was convicted of conspiracy to commit racketeering, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of forged notes.Thomas and Exavier, both of Lake Worth, were among 12 suspected members of the Top-6 gang who prosecutors said terrorized Palm Beach County residents. Prosecutors said the gang is connected to several murders and drug crimes. Two members of the Top 6 gang in Lake Worth were sentenced today to a quarter century in prison each - the first significant victory in Palm Beach County for statewide prosecutors now applying racketeering laws to dismantle criminal gangs.Defense attorneys for Ernst Exavier, 25, and Jessee Thomas, 22, argued at their sentencing that the case was one of guilt by association, that the men...