Highs Gang Member Charged in Federal Complaint After Livestreaming a Violent Armed Carjacking

MINNEAPOLIS – A member of the Highs gang has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with armed carjacking and illegal possession of a firearm after livestreaming the incident on social media, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on August 15, 2023, at approximately 10:30 a.m., the Minneapolis Police Department received a message from an unidentified individual who stated that a video had been posted to Facebook that showed a man, later identified as Leneal Frazier, Jr., 22, holding a gun to the driver of a vehicle as the driver bled from his head. The video showed the victim in the driver’s seat of the vehicle with a wound on his head and blood dripping down his forehead and the right side of his face. Frazier, a known member of the Minneapolis-based Highs gang, was behind the victim in the backseat of the vehicle and was wearing a sweatshirt and a scarf that covered most of his face except his forehead and eyes.

According to court documents, during the six-minute video, Frazier ordered the victim to call out certain known gang members in an insulting manner. While pointing the gun at the victim’s head, Frazier ordered the victim to say, “[expletive] all my dead homies.” Officers were able to identify the victim as an associate of the Lows gang. Frazier slapped the victim, mocked, and berated him, and stated, “You a Clown... you ain't even worth killin.” Frazier questioned the victim about how much money he had and told the victim he would use the victim’s money to buy the victim a gun in a mocking manner.

According to court documents, law enforcement later obtained a search warrant for Frazier’s residence. Inside the apartment, officers recovered a loaded Glock 19 pistol with an obliterated serial number and an extended magazine. Officers also recovered the scarf Frazier was wearing in the video as well as the victim’s identification and car keys. Frazier was inside the apartment and was placed under arrest.

Because Frazier has a prior felony conviction, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

The complaint charges Frazier with one count of carjacking, one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm as a felon. Frazier will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court at a later date.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS Criminal Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, Minnesota Department of Corrections, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha H. Bates and Justin A. Wesley for the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney Brian W. Lynch of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.