U.S. v. Farmer

Record contained sufficient evidence to support defendant’s conviction on RICO charges, stemming from allegations that defendant used his leadership role in Latin Kings gang to murder two individuals while committing or attempting to commit gang activities. While defendant asserted that record failed to contain sufficient evidence to show that instant two murders were related to gang activity because he was not member of gang at time they were committed, Ct. of Appeals found existence of ample evidence of link of both murders to defendant’s gang, where defendant had bragged about his gang membership and had displayed gang tattoos two years prior to said murders, and where there was evidence that defendant believed that murder victims had “snitched” on gang activities to officials. Also, record supported defendant’s life sentence, where applicable guidelines call for life sentence based, in part, on defendant’s role in instant gang-related murders.