Convicted Gang Member Sentenced to Life in Prison
ST. PAUL, Minn. – In a major blow to the Bloods gang, a federal jury trial has found Desean James Solomon, 34, guilty of racketeer influenced corrupt organization (RICO) and two counts of using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of murder.
Desean Solomon, known as ‘Black,’ has been a career criminal throughout his adulthood, committing violent crimes for the benefit of the Bloods gang. He was found guilty of numerous crimes in October 2024 at trial, along with two other individuals.
According to court documents, Solomon affiliated and associated with the Minneapolis Bloods street gang since at least 2020. Historically, the gang’s territory is located on the south side of Minneapolis, near Chicago Avenue South and 38th Street East.
Solomon’s crimes included two premeditated murders within a two-year span. In one incident, Solomon and other Bloods gang members went to a nightclub in north Minneapolis in June 2020, where they assaulted a rival gang member in the men’s bathroom. A gun battle broke out outside the nightclub, resulting in the murder of a rival gang member.
In another incident, Solomon and other Bloods gang members went to a bar in the Uptown neighborhood of south Minneapolis on April 23, 2022, where they started a large fight between members of the Bloods and members of a rival gang. Within several minutes, the Bloods members, including Solomon, left the bar and shot and killed a rival gang member.
Solomon was sentenced to a life sentence plus 20 years in U.S. District Court before Judge Susan R. Nelson. ‘I was searching for a kernel of hope that you could be trusted to not be a danger to society,’ Judge Nelson explained. ‘But based on your utter and complete disregard for human life, the brutality of the Bloods gang, your lack of remorse through every stage of this case… I am left with the certainty that you will always be a threat to public safety.’
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Minneapolis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian Weir represented the government at the sentencing hearing.
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Category: Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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