East Coast Crips leader found guilty for multiple charges, including murder
On Monday, the long-time leader of the East Coast Crips, a gang in South Los Angeles, was found guilty for numerous charges including murder, extortion and distribution of narcotics.
Known as Little Doc and Uncle Bill, 56-year-old Paul Gary Wallace was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO for short. The jury also declared Wallace guilty of using a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.
According to evidence presented during the trial, prosecutors said that Wallace was a member of ECC for over 30 years and gained notoriety within the gang as a violent man willing to murder or conspire to murder to boost not only the gang's reputation but also his status.
Prosecutors said that through his tenure as the leader of ECC, Wallace presided over the gang's extortion of local businesses, numerous robberies and attacks on rivals while also running the gang's illicit drug business within their territory.
While the jury cleared Wallace of a Feb 2003 murder, the jury found him guilty for his role in the murder of a rival gang member in November 2014. The murder weapon, an AK-47-style rifle was found in Wallace's van.
Wallace's sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 29. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
