Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Feds Search for Longtime LA Gang Leader Suspected of Murder and Human Trafficking
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
March 19, 2025

Federal authorities launch manhunt for LA gang leader accused of running a vast criminal network while posing as an entertainment entrepreneur. (AP File)

Share

LOS ANGELES — U.S. authorities are searching for a longtime leader of a Los Angeles street gang who investigators say ran a “mafia-like” criminal enterprise that included murder, human trafficking and extortion while he also worked as an entertainment entrepreneur, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Eugene Henley Jr., known as “Big U,” was one of 18 members of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips charged in a federal complaint with a litany of federal crimes including drug trafficking, conspiracy, and firearms offenses, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

Ten gang members were arrested this week while Henley, 58, and two others are considered fugitives, the statement said. Some defendants were already in custody.

The “Big U Enterprise”

Henley allegedly masterminded a criminal operation that investigators dubbed the “Big U Enterprise,” and is also suspected of embezzling donations to Developing Options, an anti-gang charity he founded but which prosecutors say he used “as a front for fraudulent purposes and to insulate its members from suspicion by law enforcement.”

He is suspected in the 2021 killing of an aspiring rap musician who was signed to his recording company, Uneek Music, according to prosecutors.

The rapper, identified in court documents as “R.W.,” was allegedly shot and killed by Henley after he recorded a “defamatory song” about the gang leader at a Las Vegas studio, prosecutors said. R.W.’s body was found in a ditch off Interstate 15 in the Nevada desert.

Mob Boss-Like Operations

Prosecutors said Henley ran the enterprise like a mob boss and used his stature and long-standing association with the Rollin’ 60s and other street gangs to intimidate businesses and individuals in Los Angeles.

“Not only did the enterprise expand its power through violence, fear, and intimidation, but it also used social media platforms, documentaries, podcasts, interviews, and Henley’s reputation and status as an ‘O.G.’ (original gangster) to create fame for — and stoke fear of — the Big U Enterprise, its members, and its associates,” the U.S. attorney’s statement said.

Extensive Criminal Activities

Henley is accused of organizing criminal activity including extortion, robbery, trafficking and exploiting sex workers, fraud, and illegal gambling. In addition, he’s suspected of submitting a fraudulent application for a COVID-19 pandemic relief loan for Uneek Music.

It wasn’t known Wednesday if Henley has an attorney. If convicted, he could face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

15 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

15 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

A man is dead and three others are injured following a rollover crash Saturday evening on Trimmer Springs Road that investigators say was ca...

14 hours ago

14 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

Mourners pray during the funeral of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
14 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

Bullet holes mark the front door of Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman, who was shot alongside his wife, Yvette, in what is believed to be an attack by 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is also the lead suspect in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Marc, in Champlin, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
15 hours ago

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

Israelis take shelter at the side of a highway as siren sounds following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in central Israel June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
15 hours ago

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday, on the day of his 79th birthday, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
15 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

17 hours ago

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

19 hours ago

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

20 hours ago

Big Fresno Fair Unveils Second Wave of 2025 Concert Acts

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend