Gowanus Gang 'Enforcer' Gets 30 Years In Prison

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — An "enforcer" for a notorious Brooklyn gang that "terrorized" Gowanus and Wyckoff Gardens was sentenced to 30 years in prison, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Shondell Walker, who was known as "M-Dot," was an enforcer for Ronald Herron, known as "Ra Diggs" or "Ra Digga," who ran the Murderous Maddawg Bloods, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

"The defendant was an enforcer for a criminal gang that terrorized the Gowanus and Wyckoff Gardens communities for decades," Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Rohde said in a press release. "Together with our law enforcement partners, we are committed to bringing violent criminals to justice and will not be deterred by attempts to obstruct our efforts."

Herron, the gang leader, is serving a life term in prison.

During Herron's trial, prosecutors said, Walker testified that Herron was a "positive role model" in the Gowanus-Wyckoff Gardens community and said that "he had never seen Herron sell narcotics, and that he had never worked, sold drugs, or carried a firearm on Herron’s behalf."

That was all wrong, prosecutors said. They knew, because Walker had written a letter from prison saying "that he intended to remain loyal to Herron because of their relationship in the Bloods," according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

"This case proves the lengths gang members will go to protect their own," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., said in the press release.

"The subject will spend the bulk of his life in federal prison all because he felt allegiance to a deadly and criminal gang. The work of our FBI New York Metro Safe Streets Task Force and our law enforcement partners is vital to stopping the spread of criminal enterprises like these gangs, and we won’t back off until these gangs no longer exist."

Patch file photo