Former Bury Your Dead guitarist Eric Ellis has just been sentenced to 20 years in prison for an insane list of charges.

As an “associate” of Florida gang ‘The Guardians,’ the 28-year-old Ellis was one of five men found guilty of violating the ‘Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Ellis played guitar on Bury Your Dead’s breakout album ‘Cover Your Tracks’ in 2004, along with their 2006 album, ‘Beauty and the Breakdown,’ and the metalcore band’s 2008 self-titled record.

The crimes committed by The Guardians are detailed in an official FBI press release:

“The gang committed a series of violent felonies and crimes, including an extortion that left one man nearly dead; the choking of a young woman until she passed out; armed bank robberies; armed home invasions; daily cocaine and opiate sales; and theft of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from local stores. Arrests were made in November 2010 when an investigation revealed that the gang was preparing to commit additional home invasion robberies. The robberies committed by the Guardians resulted in the loss of almost $2 million to their victims.
According to a Noisecreep interview from 2009, Ellis himself was a victim of a seemingly random gang assault, which he claimed was a initiation for the attackers. “I was beaten with a hammer and a bat,” Ellis described. “I had 56 contusions down the side of my body. I look back and am glad that didn’t happen to a kid at the show, or a girl coming out of the show. I am almost glad it was me.”

Bury Your Dead have released two albums, ‘It’s Nothing Personal’ and ‘Mosh n’ Roll,’ since Ellis left the band in 2008.

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