A gang leader who has been pinpointed as a central figure in a beef between two Bloods gangs that has led to a string of killings in Chattanooga is due to face 63 months in federal prison.
Under the agreement, Bobby Johnson will be on supervised release for three years after getting out of prison.
Johnson pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to being a felon in possession of ammunition.
He appeared before Magistrate Judge Chris Stegar.
Johnson, 35, was identified by a gang expert at a recent court hearing as a leader of the Bounty Hunters, a gang that has been feuding with the Athens Park Bloods.
He was found with a gun on March 7, 2016, and taken into federal custody. Authorities said he got into a dispute with Kanya Thompson and she cut him in the face with a box cutter. He then shot her twice before leaving the residence.
He faced up to 10 years in federal prison.
Prosecutor Chris Poole said Johnson has had 10 drug arrests, including two felony drug convictions.
The gang expert, testifying in state court at a hearing for Cortez Sims, said the incident that sparked a wave of violence started when several hundred people, including many gang members, crowded into Terry's Lounge on 6th Avenue. He said Martrel "Tricky Trel" Arnold had just gotten out of jail and was upset with Johnson. The witness said Arnold felt that Johnson "had been messing around with one of his girlfriends."
He said that night a fight broke out between the two Bloods sects and it "sparked a violent beef."
The witness said soon afterward shots were fired into a house on Central Avenue occupied by the aunt and uncle of an Athens Park Bloods member. The victims said they were told that the Bounty Hunters were responsible.
Then on Jan. 20, 2014, multiple shots were fired into a home on E. 50th Street with one of the shots killing 13-year-old Deontrey Southers, the step-son of Johnson. Athens Park Bloods were blamed.
The witness said since that time some want the feud to end, but he said, "Bobby Johnson has a vendetta against the Athens Park Bloods. He doesn't want it to end. He feels like it is still not even."