Las Vegas Playboy Bloods Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Charges

WASHINGTON—A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise as a member of the Playboy Bloods criminal street gang, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada.

Reginald Dunlap, 30, aka “Bowlie,” pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Phillip Pro in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise.

According to court documents, the Bloods is a criminal street organization whose members engage in drug trafficking and acts of violence. The Playboy Bloods is a local affiliate of the Bloods, with control and operation within the Las Vegas metropolitan area. A subset of the Playboy Bloods is Full Throttle Clique, a group made up of Playboy Bloods members who engage in acts of violence, including murder.

According to court documents, Dunlap is a member of the Playboy Bloods and the Full Throttle Clique. Dunlap pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct and participate in the conduct of the affairs of the Playboy Bloods through a pattern of racketeering activity.

Dunlap pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting the murder of Billy Thomas. On October 31, 2004, Playboy Bloods and Full Throttle member Quazi Burns was murdered, and Playboy Bloods members believed that a rival Crips gang member was responsible for the crime. That night, according to court documents, several Playboy Bloods members, including the defendant, met at the Jets housing complex located in Playboy Blood controlled territory and discussed retaliating against the Crips. Dunlap and the other Playboy Bloods members got into two cars and spotted Billy Ray Thomas, who was working on his car, at Pecos Terrace Apartments in Las Vegas. According to court documents, several Playboy Bloods’ members got out of the cars carrying firearms, approached Thomas, and shot and killed him, believing that he was a Crips gang member.

As part of his guilty plea, Dunlap also admitted to being in possession of 34 grams of crack cocaine and over $2,000 in cash on June 25, 2008, during a traffic stop by the North Las Vegas Police Department.

At sentencing, scheduled for April 5, 2013, Dunlap faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Dunlap is one of 10 defendants charged in October 2008 with conducting racketeering activity through the Playboy Bloods criminal enterprise. To date, eight defendants have pleaded guilty to this indictment, and six have been sentenced.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith Jr. of the District of Nevada and Trial Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.