VALLEJO-Article Last Updated:10/18/2006 05:27:17 AM PDT
A federal judge Monday sentenced the leaders of a reputed Vallejo street gang to life in prison without the possibility of parole. U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell sentenced Shango Jaja Greer, 34, and Jason Keith Walker, 31, both of Vallejo, after a lengthy trial at U.S. District Court in Sacramento. In April, after three years in court, a federal jury convicted Greer of conducting the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering, and Walker guilty of conspiring to conduct the same offense.
The jury found Greer responsible for a murder in 1994 and 2000, a 1994 attempted murder and various drug trafficking activities. The jury found Walker responsible for two 1994 murders, a 1994 attempted murder and drug trafficking enterprises.
Prosecutors painted the pair as running Pitch Dark Family, a gang of dope dealers and wannabe rappers, who operated in downtown Vallejo and rubbed out anyone who threatened their territory. Specifically, evidence established that between 1994 and 2000, Pitch Dark Family members committed four murders, one attempted murder and trafficked crack cocaine.
"(Monday's) sentences appropriately reflect the heinous reign of terror carried out by Greer and Walker, and other members of the Pitch Dark Family gang," said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott in a statement. "The efforts of the FBI and the Vallejo Police Department have broken the back of that notorious gang."
In addition to Greer and Walker, six other defendants pleaded guilty
to lesser crimes as part of the complex case
Another defendant, Charles Lee White, has been found competent to stand trial and has a status conference scheduled for Nov. 6 and a trial date set for Feb. 27.
"I'm thrilled to hear that justice has been served," said the sister of Larry Cayton, who was shot to death in Oakland in April 2000 by Pitch Dark Family members. The sister, who lives out of state, spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns.
"As far as the death penalty, me and my parents talked about it, but I don't think we have the right to make that decision," she said. "No one has the right to take someone else's life, but I'm glad to hear they can't hurt anyone anymore. I'm glad they got life without parole."
Prosecutors could have sought the death penalty, but the Justice Department opted against it in this case.
The complex Pitch Dark Family case began in February 2003, when authorities handed down a multiple-count indictment of nine defendants whom Vallejo police and FBI agents had investigated for several years in the 1990s. During the four-month trial, more than 90 prosecution witnesses testified, many of them drug addicts, dealers, prostitutes and Johns.
A federal judge Monday sentenced the leaders of a reputed Vallejo street gang to life in prison without the possibility of parole. U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell sentenced Shango Jaja Greer, 34, and Jason Keith Walker, 31, both of Vallejo, after a lengthy trial at U.S. District Court in Sacramento. In April, after three years in court, a federal jury convicted Greer of conducting the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering, and Walker guilty of conspiring to conduct the same offense.
The jury found Greer responsible for a murder in 1994 and 2000, a 1994 attempted murder and various drug trafficking activities. The jury found Walker responsible for two 1994 murders, a 1994 attempted murder and drug trafficking enterprises.
Prosecutors painted the pair as running Pitch Dark Family, a gang of dope dealers and wannabe rappers, who operated in downtown Vallejo and rubbed out anyone who threatened their territory. Specifically, evidence established that between 1994 and 2000, Pitch Dark Family members committed four murders, one attempted murder and trafficked crack cocaine.
"(Monday's) sentences appropriately reflect the heinous reign of terror carried out by Greer and Walker, and other members of the Pitch Dark Family gang," said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott in a statement. "The efforts of the FBI and the Vallejo Police Department have broken the back of that notorious gang."
In addition to Greer and Walker, six other defendants pleaded guilty
to lesser crimes as part of the complex case
Another defendant, Charles Lee White, has been found competent to stand trial and has a status conference scheduled for Nov. 6 and a trial date set for Feb. 27.
"I'm thrilled to hear that justice has been served," said the sister of Larry Cayton, who was shot to death in Oakland in April 2000 by Pitch Dark Family members. The sister, who lives out of state, spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns.
"As far as the death penalty, me and my parents talked about it, but I don't think we have the right to make that decision," she said. "No one has the right to take someone else's life, but I'm glad to hear they can't hurt anyone anymore. I'm glad they got life without parole."
Prosecutors could have sought the death penalty, but the Justice Department opted against it in this case.
The complex Pitch Dark Family case began in February 2003, when authorities handed down a multiple-count indictment of nine defendants whom Vallejo police and FBI agents had investigated for several years in the 1990s. During the four-month trial, more than 90 prosecution witnesses testified, many of them drug addicts, dealers, prostitutes and Johns.
