Accused member of Cut Throat gang awaits July trial

Sixteen people will be put on trial for alleged gang connections.

By Katie Moritz

Published March 9, 2009

The jury trial for one of the 16 alleged Cut Throat gang members is set for July 22.

Local attorney Dan Viets is defending accused gang member Ryan Kee.

The alleged gang members' arrests were revealed to the public in January during a news conference held by the Columbia Police Department. The 16 suspects were charged with drug trafficking, multiple drive-by shootings at public locations and possession of illegal firearms.

Viets said he is not convinced there ever was a Cut Throat gang.

"Maybe there was, maybe there is, but I haven't seen any evidence proving it yet," Viets said.

Viets said the police might have made up the gang's name.

"Sometimes the police make up a name for a case to make the case seem more significant," Viets said.

CPD Interim Chief Tom Dresner said the case has left the police department and is moving through the justice system.

"Now that this has moved beyond arrest and indictment and is in the courts, law enforcement's role in all of this is now greatly diminished," Dresner said in an e-mail. "We did all of our work over the last year and a half. Now that's pretty much concluded for us and this group."

Dresner said the cases haven't moved much in the courts since the arrests were made.

Viets said his client is not accused of any act of violence, but charged with conspiring to distribute illegal substances.

He said he does not know if any of the defendants are accused of violent crimes, but he hasn't been following all of the other 15 cases.

Viets said there is evidence he has not seen yet. The evidence might lead him to believe otherwise about the nature of the gang.

Viets said he expects the date of his client's trial will be changed at least once before he is tried.