Current:Home > ContactMinnesota men convicted of gang charges connected to federal crackdown -ProsperityStream Academy
Minnesota men convicted of gang charges connected to federal crackdown
View
Date:2025-04-14 14:32:21
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota jury convicted three alleged members of a Minneapolis street gang on Tuesday of charges stemming from what prosecutors said was a yearslong pattern of violence and murder.
The charges are part of a federal gang crackdown authorities announced in 2023 that ensnared dozens of members or associates of two major Minneapolis gangs. Tuesday’s guilty verdict marks the first conviction in the federal operation with the rare use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. The anti-corruption law is used to target organized crime, and prosecutors compared the defendants’ actions to the mafia.
“The Minneapolis Bloods gang is a violent criminal enterprise,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. “As the evidence proved, the defendants convicted today were members of that enterprise, and they carried out violence and murder on its behalf. As Bloods members, the rules these defendants lived by superseded all criminal laws and social tenets, such as respect for human life or concern for public safety.”
Jurors convicted Desean Solomon, 34, of RICO conspiracy and using a firearm in furtherance of murder. They also convicted Michael Burrell, 44, and Leontawan Holt, 26, of federal gun charges. Attorneys for the three men argued they acted in self-defense during violent encounters and that the men were members of a loosely affiliated group, not a formal gang.
Prosecutors said the trio have been members and associates of the Minneapolis Bloods street gang since at least 2020. That same year, court records show the men went to a Minneapolis nightclub where they got into an altercation with a rival gang member. A gunfight ensured outside the club. Solomon and Burrell both fired their weapons multiple times, resulting in the murder of a rival gang member, prosecutors said.
In a separate encounter in 2022, Solomon and Holt went to a bar to celebrate a birthday. Another fight with a rival gang member broke out. Holt and a juvenile allegedly shot at and killed a rival gang member.
Prosecutors built their case around both of those killings and an alleged pattern of narcotics sales.
Sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later date. A total of 17 alleged members of the Bloods gang have pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial in the broader federal probe, which focused on seven homicides and numerous drug trafficking and firearms violations.
veryGood! (9216)
Related
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- 7 youth hikers taken to Utah hospitals after lightning hits ground near group
- Three biggest surprise picks from first round of 2024 NBA draft
- Former Arkansas legislator Joyce Elliott experiences stroke, undergoes surgery, her family says
- Small twin
- Female capybara goes to Florida as part of a breeding program for the large South American rodents
- Shop Old Navy’s Red, White and Whoa! 4th of July Sale With Deals Starting at $2 & More Great Finds
- Clint Eastwood's Pregnant Daughter Morgan Eastwood Marries Tanner Koopmans
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Mass shooting shutters Arkansas town’s only grocery store — for now
Ranking
- Olympic men's basketball bracket: Results of the 5x5 tournament
- Princess Anne returns home after hospitalization for concussion
- Randall Cobb, family 'lucky to be alive' after Nashville home catches on fire
- Bachelorette Jenn Tran Shares Advice Michelle Young Gave Her About Facing Racism
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Randall Cobb, family 'lucky to be alive' after Nashville home catches on fire
- FACT FOCUS: Here’s a look at some of the false claims made during Biden and Trump’s first debate
- Ariana Grande calling Jeffrey Dahmer dream dinner guest slammed by victim's mom
Recommendation
'Most Whopper
Debate-watchers in the Biden and Trump camps seem to agree on something. Biden had a bad night
Michigan ban on taxpayer-funded abortions targeted by lawsuit
Mississippi sets new laws on Medicaid during pregnancy, school funding, inheritance and alcohol
Messi injury update: Ankle 'better every day' but Inter Miami star yet to play Leagues Cup
US gymnastics Olympic trials: Frederick Richard slips by Brody Malone on first night
Matthew Perry’s Ketamine Suppliers Could Face Charges Over His Death
Dr. Jennifer 'Jen' Ashton says farewell to 'Good Morning America,' ABC News after 13 years