Three members of the Minneapolis “Highs” criminal street gang have been convicted of RICO conspiracy and premeditated murder for their involvement in the 2021 gang-related murder of 25-year-old Darryl Wells, Jr.
Following a three-week trial, a federal jury in Minneapolis last week convicted Keon Pruitt, 22, Dantrell Johnson, 32, and Gregory Hamilton, 29, on racketeering conspiracy and using a firearm during a crime of violence causing death, according to press releases by the Department of Justice.
The Aug. 8, 2021 murder of Wells, who had no known gang ties, is believed to have been a case of mistaken identity that occurred the day after a high-ranking gang member, Prince Martin, was shot and killed as he stood outside Winner Gas on West Broadway. The three defendants misidentified Wells as a rival “Lows” gang member as he shopped at a neighborhood market on the 1800 block of Glenwood Avenue.
The killings were part of a series of retaliatory shootings in an escalating gang war that ramped up as part of a violent crime spike that rocked Minneapolis in the months and years that followed Gov. Tim Walz’s pandemic lockdowns and the death of George Floyd.
Court documents and evidence presented at trial described how Pruitt, Johnson, and Hamilton were members of various “cliques,” or subsets, of the Highs — a criminal enterprise that controlled territory north of West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis. Evidence at trial proved that the Highs gang committed multiple murders, narcotics trafficking, weapons violations, burglaries, assaults, and robberies. As members of the Highs, the defendants were expected to retaliate against the rival Lows gang, which operated south of West Broadway Avenue.
Following the murder of Martin, Highs gang members organized a memorial at the gas station, where they distributed firearms and encouraged each other to retaliate against Lows members for the murder. Pruitt, Johnson, and Hamilton were all in attendance at the memorial.
Later that day, Johnson and Hamilton drove to a market at Penn Avenue and Golden Valley Road, a known Lows hangout, and shot a Lows associate, who survived his injuries. Approximately two hours later, Johnson, Hamilton, and Pruitt drove to the market on Glenwood, another known Lows hangout, to shoot another Lows member, which mistakenly ended up being Wells, who ran for his life from the store and into the street. Pruitt, who was driving two juvenile gang members in a stolen Porsche, let the juveniles out of the car. The juvenile members then chased Wells into a nearby alley and fatally shot him at least eight times.
Part of Wells’ shooting was captured on surveillance video from inside the market. The video showed at least two suspects exit the store, one of them appearing to fire a gun at someone running away, while a vehicle backed away from the area. The Porsche, later confirmed to have been stolen from Uptown Minneapolis, was seen speeding away from the area.
Gunshot audio believed to be from the shooting was later posted online that indicated automatic burst gunfire.
— Broken Windows Works (@Libertyfist) August 9, 2021
“Minneapolis criminal street gangs have inflicted devastating harm on our community for far too long. Three years ago, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced our federal violent crime initiative to address the skyrocketing and completely unacceptable rates of violent crime in Minnesota,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. “Since then, we have brought large RICO cases against three criminal street gangs—charging them as the violent enterprises they are. Make no mistake: we will not stop. Criminal street gangs in Minneapolis will continue to see federal justice. The citizens of Minnesota—the many victims of these crimes—deserve no less.”
The three defendants had already been convicted in state court in the murder of Wells and had each been sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, offenders convicted in state court are only required to serve two-thirds or less of their sentence incarcerated before being considered for release.
The federal sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled, but each faces a maximum penalty of up to life in prison under federal guidelines.
This is the first of several trials in this case, which charged a total of 28 defendants with RICO conspiracy, narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses, and other charges related to their activities as members and associates of the Highs gang. Sixteen defendants are pending trial.
The above cases are part of a larger group of RICO cases against Minneapolis gangs initiated by former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Andrew Luger.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
