U.S. court case starts in LV killing

Authorities hope to signal to other gang members that the federal government is serious about levying harsh penalties for such crimes.

Unlike District Court, where the majority of gang murder cases are tried, those convicted in federal court have no chance of parole.

That’s the scenario 20-year-old Donnie Bryant faces as prosecutors try to prove he was a key player in what they termed an “ambush-style murder” that terrorized a North Las Vegas apartment complex on Sept. 13, 2004.

He is charged with violent crime in aid of racketeering and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.

One reason the case is being tried in federal court is because prosecutor Kathleen Bliss claims Bryant was part of an organized criminal enterprise, the street gang known as Squad Up.

Bliss said Squad Up is a mix of members from rival gangs whose primary purpose is to engage in violent crimes, drug dealing and other illegal activities designed to claim more turf in Las Vegas. Bliss said Bryant’s involvement in the 2004 shooting was to elevate his position within the gang.

Bryant and co-defendant Jonathon Toliver donned black hooded sweatshirts and stormed the apartment complex with the intent to kill Jarbirey Carter after a dispute, Bliss said. Instead, the fatal bullets struck Gilbert Henry. One shot also struck a woman baby-sitting three young children, Bliss said.

Many residents of the complex moved to Las Vegas from New Orleans in the early 2000s. Bliss indicated Squad Up was upset at the number of New Orleans residents.

She said Bryant was wearing an ankle bracelet to monitor his whereabouts after a previous crime. He was unaccounted for between 2 p.m. and 8:41 p.m. that September day, Bliss said. The shooting occurred at about 8:20 p.m.

Bliss also said a black hooded sweatshirt was found in a garbage can outside Bryant’s home. Experts found Bryant’s DNA and gunshot residue on the sweatshirt.

Kissie Allen, a witness for the government and the cousin of Henry, huddled next to a building during the gunfire. She told jurors Wednesday that she saw her cousin running from a gunman.

“I remember him saying he was shot,” Allen said before exploding into tears, prompting U.S. District Judge Philip Pro to halt the line of questioning momentarily.

Cheryl Field-Lang, who represents Bryant, asked jurors to keep an open mind as the government presents its case.

She reminded the jury that some government witnesses will be “snitches” looking for a deal to shorten their own prison sentences.

Field-Lang acknowledged that Bryant was a member of the Rolling 60s Crips gang, but she brushed aside the significance of that association.

“He’s a young kid from a poor neighborhood who joined the Rolling 60s because something was missing from his life,” she said.

The Rolling 60s was the last street gang prosecuted in federal court. Members faced charges in 2004 ranging from violent crime in aid of racketeering and firearms charges to possession of controlled substances.

Rolling 60s member Michael Coleman faced the same charges as Bryant. Coleman, who received some leniency for pleading guilty, is serving nearly 13 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors declined to discuss their strategy prosecuting street gangs.

However, legal publications say federally prosecuted gangs typically fall under the category of a racketeering enterprise when the purpose of a violent crime is to increase a member’s position within the group.

The federal laws created in 1984 and revamped in 1994 were crafted to discourage gang activity.

“The (Senate) committee concluded that the need for federal jurisdiction is clear, in view of the federal government’s strong interest, as recognized in existing statutes, in suppressing the activities of organized criminal enterprises,” a 1984 Senate Committee report states.