Gregory Hamilton, a 29-year-old member of the Minneapolis street gang known as the Highs, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday by United States District Judge Nancy Brasel. The sentencing follows his conviction for RICO Conspiracy and Premeditated Murder connected to the August 8, 2021 killing of Darryl Wells, Jr., an innocent bystander who was mistakenly identified as a rival gang member.
U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced that this is the second life sentence secured in ongoing efforts to prosecute violent street gangs in Minneapolis under federal racketeering laws. So far, over 100 gang members have been charged with federal crimes, including 39 members of the Highs facing charges such as RICO conspiracy, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses.
Court documents and trial evidence indicated that Hamilton participated in activities as part of the Highs’ criminal enterprise, which operated north of West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis. Members were involved in murders, drug trafficking, weapons violations, burglaries, assaults, and robberies. Retaliation against the rival Lows gang was an expectation among members.
The violence escalated after a prominent Highs member was killed by a Lows member at a local gas station on August 7, 2021. The next day at a memorial for the deceased held at the same location—a known gathering spot for Highs—firearms were distributed and calls for retaliation made. Hamilton attended this memorial.
Later that day, Hamilton and Dantrell Johnson drove to Wally’s Foods—a hangout for Lows associates—and shot one individual who survived. About two hours later, along with Keon Pruitt and two juveniles driving a stolen Porsche, they went to Skyline Market looking for more rivals. Mistaking Darryl Wells Jr., who was not affiliated with either gang, for a Lows member inside the store led them to shoot him multiple times; surveillance footage captured part of this attack. Wells ran from the store but was chased into an alley where he was shot further—at least eight times according to authorities.
Hamilton was convicted alongside Johnson and Pruitt on charges including Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy and Using a Firearm to Cause Death.
Judge Brasel stated during sentencing: “This was gang revenge, pure and simple.” She described Hamilton as “a shooter for the Highs” responsible for killing Wells “in a horrific and barbaric manner.” The judge added that violence had turned North Minneapolis into “an open-air shooting range,” impacting both direct victims like Wells and other community members caught in crossfire.
“A lesser sentence would not honor and protect members of this neighborhood who were terrorized” by these actions,” Judge Brasel concluded at sentencing. A community letter submitted to court noted: “Whether it be from violence with guns, drug sales, or both—we have been preyed upon enough as a community.”
The investigation leading up to these convictions involved cooperation between several agencies including ATF; FBI; Minneapolis Police Department; IRS Criminal Investigation; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office; Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; Minnesota Department of Corrections; U.S. Marshals Service; DEA; Homeland Security Investigations; Hennepin County Attorney’s Office; Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office; Dakota County Sheriff’s Office; St. Paul Police Department among others.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Lopez-Calhoun, Albania Concepcion, Rebecca Kline and Carla Baumel prosecuted these cases along with Justice Department Trial Attorneys Brian Lynch and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein.
