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Sentences for Des Moines street gang members complete

Sentences for Des Moines street gang members complete

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A Des Moines man was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison Friday in the final indictment of alleged street gang members accused of shipping nearly 50 pounds of fentanyl to central Iowa.

Majok Majok, 21, was the last of seven accused of Only My Brothers gang members. Police have linked the OMB, as it was known, to firearms trafficking and shootings and other violence against rival gangs, as well as a “sophisticated” narcotics trafficking operation.

They said those gang rivalries included a long-running dispute with the “OTR” or “Strap” gang, a dispute that police believe contributed to the 2023 shooting deaths of two students at a Des Moines alternative school.

Majok pleaded guilty to five charges: racketeering, controlled substance conspiracy, firearms trafficking conspiracy, possession of a firearm during drug trafficking and possession of a machine gun. He reached a deal with prosecutors that called for a sentence of between 20 and 25 years. But on Friday, after a hearing closed to the public, Judge Stephen Locher sentenced him to 195 months in prison: 16 years and three months.

Locher acknowledged Majok’s youth — he committed most of his crimes when he was 18 or younger — but also highlighted the seriousness of his crimes, particularly the approximately 22 kilograms of fentanyl trafficked by the gang.

“It’s an incredible amount. If this case were just about fentanyl, it would be a serious case,” Locher said. “…At every level it’s a really serious crime, and serious crimes demand serious consequences.”

Majok and OMB linked to multiple shootings

Locher also noted that Majok is known to have been involved in two shootings, in March and August 2022. Only one person, on the OMB side, was injured.

In other proceedings, Des Moines police have described an ongoing dispute between OMB and its allies against Strap and his affiliates, which they believe was related to more than 50 shootings between 2021 and 2023. Police said members of the OMB frequently used illegal selector devices capable of allowing a semi-automatic pistol to fire at a rate of 20 rounds per second. Majok pleaded guilty to possessing a modified weapon.

Related: Des Moines gang member pleads guilty to firearms trafficking and fentanyl and receives 23 years in prison

Prosecutor Kristin Herrera said Friday that outbreaks of gunfire in residential neighborhoods and public parks, even those that did not result in injuries, terrorized entire communities.

“These are not victimless crimes,” he told Locher.

Majok clashed with Starts Right Here shooter Preston Walls

After two students were shot to death at the Starts Right Here educational center in downtown Des Moines two years ago, Majok’s name came up several times in subsequent trials.

Prosecutors said shooter Preston Walls and alleged accomplice Bravon Tukes were affiliated with the Strap gang and shot and killed Rashad Carr and Gionni Dameron, who were members of the OMB. Describing the biggest disputeA Des Moines police investigator showed jurors a video of Majok going to Walls’ workplace and slapping him, and another that Walls recorded of himself walking through the parking lot of Majok’s apartment building.

Further: Gang member accused of shooting three at baby shower sentenced to 32 years

Walls was finally convicted of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder, while Tukes was acquitted. Relatives of Carr and Dameron have denied that the two young men were involved in gangs, and a jury in Walls’ trial told the Des Moines Register that the jurors were not convinced that gang rivalries contributed to the shooting.

Other OMB members go to prison

In addition to Majok., the OMB members and associates charged and their sentences are:

  • Deon Cooper: 30 months in prison.
  • Avontae Tucker, 30 years old.
  • Dawn Robinson, 10 years old.
  • Santiz Lanford Jr., almost 25 years old.
  • Dahaba Lula, 12 years old.
  • Semaj Johnson, almost 13 years old.

The seven were charged together in a 49-count indictment filed in November 2023. They all pleaded guilty before trial.

William Morris covers the courts of the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 715-573-8166.

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