CLEVELAND- A Campbell man is set to plead guilty three days before his 22nd birthday to being part of Youngstown's former largest street gang.
Maurise Kerns of Eighth Street is scheduled to plead guilty Monday to racketeering charges in U.S. Northern District Judge Donald C. Nugent's courtroom.
Kerns was charged with racketeering in the indictment, which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine.
He will be the fourth member of the gang to plead guilty to charges.
One member, Corey Council, 23, of Princeton Avenue, was sentenced to serve three years in federal prison. Another gang member who pleaded guilty earlier this month, Marques Duvall, is scheduled for sentencing April 18. The third man, Shawn Jones, 22, of Halleck Avenue, who was accused of shooting a man in the chest whom fellow gang members attempted to bribe in exchange for not testifying against him, will be scheduled following the trial, court records said.
The trial date for the remaining 19 accused members and associates will likely be continued from Feb. 21 because of multiple requests for the postponement, some of which were unopposed by federal prosecutors.
The indictment alleges that Kerns, on Jan. 1, 2007 and Aug. 25, 2010, registered cars in his name for accused LSP leader Daquann Hacket and accused LSP member Richard Ivy.
In March 2010, the charges state, he sold marijuana near Lake Drive.
Between Jan. 1, 2007 and April 23, 2010 Kerns sold marijuana and crack in the city. He also possessed a handgun near 1340 Victor Ave. April 23.
Court records show Kerns was convicted in 2008 of receiving stolen property and was sent to prison for one year after violating probation terms. He was sentenced to serve another year in prison in 2010 for carrying a concealed weapon.
In April, federal authorities brought charges against members of the South Side gang they claim have controlled drug trafficking, shot at rival gang members and attempted to kill an informant during the last nine years.
The 42-count indictment states the LSP gang, which stands for Laclede, Sherwood and Parkview or Princeton avenues, the streets at the heart of the gang's territory, controlled drug trafficking and enhanced and protected their gang's power through violence.
Among the criminal acts described in the indictment are murder, robbery, witness tampering, retaliation and drug trafficking, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, felonious assault, aggravated menacing, firearms trafficking, theft, receiving stolen property, carjacking, breaking and entering and burglary. According to some victims, bribes were attempted to keep them from testifying at their trials, offering the gunshot victim $20,000 to not testify during trial.