Current:Home > NewsMinnesota men convicted of gang charges connected to federal crackdown -Wealth Pursuit Network
Minnesota men convicted of gang charges connected to federal crackdown
View
Date:2025-04-18 21:34:10
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 As Bloods members, the rules these defendants lived by superseded all criminal laws and social tenets, such as respect for human life or concern for public safety.”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! (921)
Related
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Bob Good hopes final vote count will put him ahead of Trump-endorsed challenger
- An East Texas town wants to revolutionize how the state cares for people living with memory loss
- 9-1-1 Crew Member Rico Priem's Cause of Death Revealed
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- NCAA presents options to expand March Madness tournaments from current 68 teams, AP source says
- Mass shooting in Philadelphia injures 7, including 1 critical; suspects sought
- Fast 100 freestyle final brings talk of world record for Caeleb Dressel, teammates
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Millions sweating it out as heat wave nears peak from Midwest to Maine
Ranking
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Republican state lawmaker arrested in middle of night in Lansing
- New York moves to limit ‘addictive’ social media feeds for kids
- Travis Kelce responds to typo on Chiefs' Super Bowl ring: 'I don’t give a (expletive)'
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Kylie Jenner cries over 'exhausting' comments saying she looks 'old'
- Louisiana becomes first state to require that Ten Commandments be displayed in public classrooms
- Rivian owners are unknowingly doing a dumb thing and killing their tires. They should stop.
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
An East Texas town wants to revolutionize how the state cares for people living with memory loss
Ben Affleck Recounts F--king Bananas Fan Encounter With Wife Jennifer Lopez and Their Kids
New Zealand rugby star Connor Garden-Bachop dies at 25 after a medical event
Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
Ben Affleck Recounts F--king Bananas Fan Encounter With Wife Jennifer Lopez and Their Kids
After Drake battle, Kendrick Lamar turns victory lap concert into LA unity celebration
Expanded Kentucky Bourbon Trail to feature both age-old distilleries and relative newcomers