Soldier Of Violent Bloods Street Gang Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison For Racketeering Conspiracy

NEWARK, N.J. – A soldier of the Sex Money Murder set of the Bloods street gang was sentenced today to 264 months in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that involved attempted murder and conspiracy to distribute heroin, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Laquan Reed, 28, a/k/a “Drama,” of Montclair, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to Count Two of a 14-count superseding indictment charging him with racketeering conspiracy. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The Bloods street gang is organized into subgroups, called “sets,” that operate in specific geographic locations. Sex Money Murder is the set that operates primarily in Essex County, New Jersey. Reed, a ranking member in Sex Money Murder, admitted that from 2007 to 2011 he committed a series of violent crimes to advance the gang’s objectives. He admitted that he conspired with set members to murder a rival gang member on Aug. 3, 2011, identified in the indictment as “Victim 6.” Reed admitted he and others engaged in a shootout in an effort to kill the rival gang member in and around Newark. Reed also admitted conspiring to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin in and around Newark.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Reed to five years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino; the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando V. Fontoura; and the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Anthony F. Ambrose, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski; and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John B. Devito, for their roles in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Toscano, Chief, Organized Crime and Gangs Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division, and Dara Govan of the Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: James Patton Esq., Livingston, New Jersey