A federal judge sentenced one of 13 Bomb Squad gang members charged with racketeering to life in prison plus 10 years.
U.S. District Judge James Shadid sentenced Eugene Haywood, 26, on federal racketeering charges, as well as for the 2013 murders of Eric Brown and Tyrann Chester.
The 13 men were charged in 2018 as part of a major law enforcement initiative against the notorious Peoria street gang. They were convicted in December 2019.
Haywood is the first of the 13 men to be sentenced. Sentencing hearings are scheduled to continue this week and next week.
Members of the Bomb Squad faced charges of racketeering, murder, attempted murder, and arson committeed against rival gangs or to protect the gang's reputation, federal prosecutors said.
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