
ATLANTA — A former Georgia cop convicted of moonlighting as a hitman for a violent criminal gang has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Vancito Gumbs, 28, of Stone Mountain, Georgia had boasted of being a hitman for the Gangster Disciples while working as a Dekalb County cop, federal prosecutors said.
Authorities said Gumbs had relayed sensitive law enforcement information to the gang and provided a firearm to a fellow gang member.
Gumbs’ family has argued that he was never guilty of being a killer but rather prone to boasting about himself. A military veteran, they have said he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
At the heart of the case against him was a 2015 text message Gumbs sent to a woman in which he claimed: “I’m a gd hitman.” Prosecutors said he was talking about the Gangster Disciples, although his lawyers argued “gd” meant “goddamn.”
He was convicted of racketeering in 2019.
The Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in Chicago dating back to the 1970s and have held responsible for 24 shootings from 2011 through 2015, including 12 murders, prosecutors said.
They say Gumbs had been photographed flashing a hand sign used by the Gangster Disciples and had been caught on recorded calls talking to a chief enforcer for the gang while employed as a DeKalb County police officer.
Evidence showed that during these calls, Gumbs relayed law enforcement information to the gang and provided a firearm to a fellow gang member. On later calls, the enforcer noted that he had Gangster Disciples police officers at his disposal.
The jury found that Gumbs remained involved with the gang even while knowing they were involved in murder.