Following an eight-day trial, a federal jury convicted two more defendants of all charged counts for their involvement in the Minneapolis Highs street gang, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
Defendants Cortez Davon Blakemore, 35, and Robert Lesure, 23, were convicted by a jury of federal RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date.
Blakemore and Lesure were long-standing and prolific drug traffickers for the Highs criminal street gang, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial. They sold fentanyl at the intersection of West Broadway and Lyndale in north Minneapolis, which the Highs had taken control of and turned into an open-air drug market.
The Highs are a violent criminal street gang that has long wreaked havoc on north Minneapolis, selling fentanyl and other deadly drugs and enforcing its territory through violence, kidnapping, and murder, including the murders of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.
Forty members of the Highs gang were charged in the large RICO indictment. Blakemore and Lesure are the 37th and 38th defendants to be convicted in the case. A final RICO defendant is set to be tried in 2026, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thompson said.
“These convictions bring justice not just to the victims of the Highs gang, but to an entire community that has endured years of violence, fear, and loss,” said Thompson. “For too long, this gang terrorized Minneapolis, maintaining control through chaos. Today, the people of this city get something they’ve long been denied: peace. This case is the result of a relentless federal coalition—the U.S. Attorney’s Office side-by-side with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. Our message is clear: if you endanger our communities, we are coming for you. And we won’t stop until every neighborhood in this city is free from fear.”
Regarding the latest convictions, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said, “The outstanding work of MPD officers and our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office have been instrumental in targeting the small number of individuals committing a disproportionate amount of violence in the city.”
Five Highs gang members were convicted in June in a RICO trial, and three other Highs members were convicted at trial in April on RICO charges involving murder and racketeering. Another Highs gang member was sentenced to 14 years in prison in March for his role in the racketeering conspiracy.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF, FBI, Minneapolis Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minnesota Department of Corrections with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, DEA, Homeland Security Investigation, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, St. Paul Police Department, and numerous other law enforcement agencies contributed to the investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s press release said.
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Author: Crime Watch MN
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