On October 2, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that three additional members of the Pueblo Bishops Bloods were found guilty of federal racketeering, narcotics, and gun charges. The group is a long-standing street gang that attempts to control the Pueblo del Rio housing projects.
There are the first federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges ever brought against the Bloods in Southern California. The three new defendants are accused of engaging in “narcotics and firearms trafficking, murder, witness intimidation, and armed robbery as part of the gang’s efforts to terrorize the housing projects.”
The three new defendants are Kevin Eleby, “L,” of Los Angeles, Jason Davis, “Lil G-Red,” of Los Angeles, and Rashaad Laws, “Big Time,” over Los Angeles and Culver City.
Eleby was also sentenced to gun possession apart from the RICO charges. He was in possession of a sawed-off .22 caliber rifle. Before apprehended by police, he initiated a high-speed chase through the projects and crashed into a minivan. The three defendants are charged with distributing a large amount of crack cocaine, and Davis is believed to have distributed school zone.
Eleby and Davis face a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and could possibly face life in prison with parole. Laws faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and he also faces a possible life sentence. They will be sentenced on February 4, 2013.
46 defendants have now been charged during the investigation of the Pueblo Bishops Bloods. There are currently two fugitives following the investigation, and one defendant has had the charges dropped. About half of the defendants have already been sentenced, and some members have received sentences up to 211 months in prison.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
