The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Michigan will seek the death penalty against Detroit street gang boss Billy (Killa) Arnold, who was arrested for a slew of federal racketeering offenses, including multiple homicides, almost two years ago. The last person to be sentenced to die in the state of Michigan was Marvin Gabrion, convicted in 2002 for killing a woman from Kent County he had allegedly raped and was set to testify against him in court. The 31-year old Arnold is considered the leader of the Seven Mild Bloods, one of the most prominent street gang on the Motor City’s notoriously rough Eastside. He was one of a half-dozen Seven Mile Bloods indicted by the feds in March 2016. Arnold is accused of carrying out two revenge-slaying murders in 2015 and 2014 respectively. The May 2015 homicide occurred he same day a Seven Mile Blood was slain by a rival street gang and allegedly committed alongside Seven Mile Blood Corey (Cocaine Sonny) Bailey. The area around Seven Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue in which the Seven Mile Bloods gang is centered is referred to in regional underworld circles as the “Red Zone.” Prior to their arrests, Arnold and Bailey were part of Motown’s hip-hop scene. They both rapped for Hard Work Records, a local independent label. While Bailey went by his street moniker, Cocaine Sonny, Arnold used the stage name “Bernizo”
