The U.S. Attorney is prosecuting members of the Vice Lords gang based in Middle Tennessee. Seventeen indictments have been handed down.

Members are accused of selling crack cocaine and marijuana while wielding Glocks and .357 magnum pistols. The indictment includes charges of robbery and attempted murder.

This is not a conspiracy centered on the streets of Nashville but a drug ring that worked the suburbs and beyond – Lebanon, Cookeville and Murfreesboro. Jerry Martin is the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee

“Police chiefs in those communities all know that they have gang issues. We all coordinate and work very effectively together. It’s just a new reality here in Tennessee that gangs are more prevalent in rural communities.”

Martin says the Internet now makes it easier for gangs to coordinate from a distance.

Fifteen of the 17 gang members are now in police custody.