They cemented their bond in drugs and blood, court documents said, forming a street brotherhood steeped in turf battles and violence until law enforcement smashed their gang operations in 2003.

On May 15, at least two men alleged to be members of the Rolling 60s Crips -- who were arrested under the original indictment that implicated 21 people, ages 19 to 34 -- are scheduled to go to trial in U.S. District Court before Judge Larry Hicks.

Calvin Moten, nicknamed Mo-D, and Darreal Biddle, also known as D-Locc, face a slew of charges rooted in multiple homicides, racketeering and the possession and sale of illegal drugs. A third defendant, Floyd Strickland Jr., who goes by Lil' L and Telles, also was scheduled to go to trial but might enter into a plea agreement.

All three men remain in federal custody while awaiting trial.

"The acts that the government seeks to introduce demonstrate the manner in which defendants, as members of the Rolling 60s Crips, rose through the ranks and gained their reputations as 'Tru Riddas,'" federal prosecutors said in a 2005 trial brief.

The defendants' actions demonstrate they were "'down for it' or otherwise committed to the reputation and purpose of the Rolling 60s Crips street gang."

The territory claimed by Rolling 60s spanned West Las Vegas and parts of North Las Vegas. Tensions in the case are already mounting, as evidenced in a motion submitted by the U.S. attorney's office May 1. Prosecutors are seeking a court order that would allow them to withhold the identities of key witnesses until 8:30 a.m. on the day of the particular witness's testimony.

"Threats to witnesses have been made as recently as April 25, 2006," prosecutors wrote. "Family members ... were told that they would be harmed. ... Other witnesses have expressed concern about their safety because of their familiarity with the defendants, their associates and the gang in which they claim membership."

The government has relocated many of the witnesses, prosecutors said.

Other witnesses expected to testify for the prosecution are Carrie Poniewicz, a drug analyst for the Metropolitan Police Department, and Alane Olson, a medical examiner with the Clark County coroner's office.

Olson's testimony will focus on four homicides:

• Billy Rex Traver, who prosecutors allege was killed by Biddle during a 1997 robbery attempt.

• Patrick Hawkins, who prosecutors allege was killed by Biddle and other gang members during a 2001 robbery attempt.

• Adrian Williams, who prosecutors allege was killed by Biddle and other gang members in 2001.

• Jessie McFadden, who prosecutors allege was killed by Strickland in 2003.

Earlier in the case, authorities said Hawkins and Williams were killed as a rite of gang initiation, or to increase an individual's status in the gang. Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden sought to pursue the death penalty against those accused in the slayings but was refused by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last year.

Court documents also show that in at least one case, one defendant has turned against another. In an affidavit submitted to the court by Strickland on April 26, he said he was placed in a cell at the Stewart/Mojave City of Las Vegas Detention Center with Freddie Prentiss as a cellmate.

Prentiss, also known as Romeo, was named by law enforcement as a gang leader. He pleaded guilty in 2003 to a racketeering charge. At a hearing April 20, Strickland learned that Prentiss had been cooperating with the government since August 2002.

Prentiss isn't expected to be sentenced for his crime until this summer. According to court documents, Prentiss' plea agreement calls for "full and complete cooperation." It also states that Prentiss may be called as a witness against the defendants, who law enforcement alleges were his fellow gang members.

As of late Friday afternoon, Strickland was scheduled to change his plea in a hearing today. The other two defendants are scheduled to go to trial May 15, said Natalie Collins, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office.

The indictment handed down in the case is a RICO indictment, which charges the individuals involved with participating in a Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization that operated eight "drug houses" from 1992 to 2003.