Wednesday, July 22, 2015
CLEVELAND (AP) — A founding member of a vicious prison and street gang has been sentenced to three years behind bars for participating in a criminal gang and intimidating a police officer.
Donte Ferguson, 29, pleaded guilty to the charges in Cuyahoga County Pleas Court in March and was sentenced Tuesday. He was also sentenced Monday in federal court to three years in prison for counts of possessing a firearm as a felon. The two sentences will run concurrently.
Prosecutors have described Ferguson as a top leader in the Cleveland-based Heartless Felons. The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports prosecutors say Ferguson will serve his sentence in federal prison to keep him out of the state prison system, where the gang has many members.