LRGP Member Pleads Guilty to Murder, Attempted Murder of Rival Gang Member

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Anthony Skinner, 20, of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty to murder in aid of racketeering activity (RICO) and attempted murder in aid of racketeering involving the shooting of a rival gang member before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was a member of the LRGP Gang. LRGP is named after Lombard, Rother, Gibson, and Playter Streets. On August 3, 2009, to increase his position within the LRGP Gang, the defendant murdered Andre Anderson by shooting him at the corner of Peckham and Lombard. Skinner murdered Anderson because he believed Anderson had stolen a shotgun and an assault rifle belonging to LRPG members.

On March 15, 2010, the defendant attempted to murder a member of the Bailey Boys, a rival gang. Skinner shot the victim, hitting him in the leg, on Bailey Avenue near Berkshire Avenue. The defendant believed the victim was responsible for the previous murder of LRGP Gang member Eddie Battles on October 9, 2009.

"Today’s murder conviction is an example of the extreme violence gang members are willing to commit,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Sometimes the motive is to increase their stature in the group; on other occasions, out of the misguided belief that a particular street or area should belong to them. Whatever the perpetrator may think, the streets of our community belong to the public, and we in law enforcement will not tolerate gang activity in our neighborhoods. We have, in the past several years, removed more than 160 gang members from our city neighborhoods, and these efforts will continue."

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian P. Boetig, and the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Unit, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 6, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.