Members of Jimmy Wopo’s gang are heading to prison for a long time after being accused of trying to kill rival gang members and selling drugs in Pittsburgh.
A U.S. District Judge has convicted and sentenced two members of Jimmy Wopo’s gang for committing a laundry list of crimes as a part of a federal RICO case that started in 2018.
Wopo, the rapper who was murdered three years ago, was said to have been the leader of the 11 Hunnit street gang and has been extremely influenced because of his rap career.
But despite his demise, his gang seems to have continued to break laws and terrorize, and now some will be sent away for a very long time.
Dionte Griffin and Richard Kelly, members of the Pittsburg crew were sentenced this week after pleading guilty to their charges.
The charges included racketeering that included murder, weapons/ firearms, robbery, and drug dealing.
The 26-year-old Kelly received 78 months (approximately 6.5 years) on Monday and Griffin, who is only one year younger, received a more hefty lockdown on Tuesday.
Griffin will go away for 117 months (a little under 10 years). The sentencing judge was the Honorable Cathy Bisson.According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Judge Bisson shared with the court that she had to “think long and hard” about Griffin’s sentence.
She wanted to actually give him 24 years for what she said was “breathtakingly bad” behavior. She decided not to because she believes that this will give him time to reform himself.
She said directly to Griffin, “I hope you can appreciate what a waste of time gang life has been.”
It seems that Griffin has. He told the courts that he has already started to change, claiming that he has matured in the four years since his arrest back in 2018.
He said, “I was a 21-year-old boy, now I’m a 25-year-old man.”
One proposed way to get him on the right track is for him to join a carpentry program. With this sentencing, Griffin will be in his mid-30s when he is released.
Sydney Pack, another gang member, was supposed to be sentenced along with Griffin but his date was to October. He, too, pleaded guilty. Fans wonder if had he lived, Jimmy Wopo would have been going down too.