Two Crips Gang Members Sent to Prison for a Total of 86 Years

Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained a forty-eight-year sentence against a Crips gang member who shot a man during a robbery. Adam Dewayne Holmes, 35, was convicted of Second Degree Murder, Especially Aggravated Robbery, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Convicted Felon. Judge Steve Sword sentenced Holmes to forty years in prison without the possibility of parole consecutive to an eight-year sentence Holmes is already serving on a drug trafficking case. Co-defendant Kenneth Lamont Cox, 30, was convicted in 2019 for his role in the offense and sentenced to a total of thirty-eight years in prison.

At trial last October, Assistant District Attorneys Larry Dillon and TaKisha Fitzgerald explained to the jury that on June 8, 2017, Knoxville Police Department officers responded to a shots-fired call near 1230 W. Scott Avenue. At the scene, officers discovered that the victim, Daryl Singleton, had been shot inside his vehicle. Investigators learned that Holmes had lured Singleton to the location in order to rob him. Holmes asked Cox to come”watch out” for him during the robbery. When Singleton arrived, Cox and Holmes entered the car with Holmes pulling a gun on Singleton. Holmes told Cox to grab a black bag belonging to Singleton which Cox did before running away. Holmes then fired a single shot, striking the victim in the head.

“Gang members who commit violent acts will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said DA Charme Allen.”We need help from the community to hold these offenders accountable, and I thank the witnesses who came forward in this case and helped make this prosecution possible.”

Holmes has eight prior felony convictions for violent, drug dealing, and weapons offenses. He has also been classified as a member of the 111 Neighborhood Crips criminal street gang. Cox had four previous convictions for Robbery and Aggravated Burglary and was also identified as a member of the Crips.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.