Gang Leader Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison in RICO Case

LOS ANGELES—A Los Angeles man who was the leader of a criminal street gang that used violence and intimidation in an attempt to control the Pueblo del Rio Housing Projects in South Los Angeles was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison.

Kevin Eleby, who was known on the street as “L,” 49, a longtime leader of the Pueblo Bishop Bloods street gang, was sentenced by United States District Judge S. James Otero. During a 10-year period of supervised release that will follow his prison term, Eleby will be banned from entering the Pueblo del Rio Housing Projects, the veritable headquarters of the gang.

Eleby was convicted in October 2012 of four felony charges: conspiracy to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act; conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin; possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The gun offense relates to a shooting in which members of the gang used a Thompson submachine gun and other weapons to fire more than a dozen rounds into a residence in the projects where a rival gang member lived. Only the mother and 11-year-old brother of the intended victim were home at the time of the attack. Both victims survived, but the family moved out of the projects shortly thereafter. The evidence at trial showed that the shooting followed a gang meeting where Eleby passionately advocated that younger gang members needed to increase their retaliatory violence against rival gangs and drive Hispanic residents out of the projects.

Eleby was one of three defendants convicted following a four-week trial. The jury determined the Eleby and his co-defendants were members of a criminal enterprise that engaged in drug dealing, firearms trafficking, murder, witness intimidation, and armed robbery as part of the gang’s efforts to control and terrorize the housing projects. Co-defendant Jason Davis was sentenced by Judge Otero on July 29 to 25 years in federal prison. The third person convicted at that trial—Rashaad Laws, also known as “Big Time”—is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9.

As a result of the federal investigation into the Pueblo Bishop Bloods, a total of 45 defendants were charged in federal indictments. Prosecutors have convicted 40 of those defendants, while two defendants are in state custody and two others are fugitives.

The final defendant in this case—Rondale Young, who is accused of executing a young man with no gang affiliation by shooting the victim in front of the victim’s 2-year-old son, among other racketeering charges—is scheduled to be tried before Judge Otero on December 3.

This case against members and associates of the Pueblo Bishop Bloods is the result of an investigation by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Task Force on Violent Gangs and other agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.