Posted on 12/04/2014 10:02:28 PM PST by Citizen Zed
A San Diego rapper is facing gang conspiracy charges in nine shootings, but not any direct involvement. He is facing prison time because of his lyrics.
A judge set a trial date Thursday for 33-year-old Brandon Duncan, aka “Tiny Doo,” charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit a felony with a criminal street gang. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2015, when he faces 25 years to life in prison.
Duncan, who prosecutors say was part a Lincoln Park gang, was one of 15 people charged in a San Diego Police crackdown aimed at disrupting local gang activity. The District Attorney’s Office says gang-related shootings started increasing in southeast San Diego in 2012 and peaked in 2013 with nine shootings.
While some face charges directly related to the nine shootings, like attempted murder, all of the defendants are charged with conspiracy counts, according to the complaint.
The DA says Duncan profited from these gang activities through album sales, even though there is no evidence connecting him to the actual shootings.
He is being charged under a Penal Code Section 182.5, which California voters passed in 2000. The DA sums up the statute this way: “if you are a documented gang member, and you benefit from or promote the activities of the gang, you can be held responsible for crimes the gang commits.”
To be found guilty, prosecutors must prove the suspects are active gang members, that they had “general” knowledge of the gang’s activity and that they profited, assisted or benefited from the activities. The suspects do not have to be directly involved with the crime to be found guilty.
Those benefits could be economic, like album sales, or intangible, like respect, the DA says.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcsandiego.com ...
Works for me.
Much as I despise thug rap, and believe that the rapper did indirectly benefit from the crimes committed by the gang, I have a problem with this sort of prosecutorial connection. It's a slippery slope.
For example, it's illegal to walk up to a foreigner from a country some of whose citizens are terrorists, and kick that person in the ass. It's assault.
Then, should a popular country singer, who sang a song about shoving his all-American boot up the foreign country's citizen's ass, be charged with assault along with the actual perp?
How close does it have to come, before we find it is turned against us?
Prosecute the rapper for being a gang member. But don't prosecute him for his (alleged) music, however disgusting and inflammatory it is.
Is the TEA Party considered a gang in Kalifornia?
Oops, forgot to add: Yes, what Sharpton does is considerably worse.
“Intent to Commit Bad Amateur Rap” should be a felony right out of the gate.
I’d say “Tiny Doo” is in deep doo doo.
I'll just betcha' "California voters" passed a penal code stuck into a "save the palm tree mite" ordinance and had no idea what they were passing.
They would prosecute him for selling CDs, and profiting from it. Of course, it might be a little difficult to prove the country singer is a know gang banger, but some liberal will try. I agree with you, as much as I hate rap, liberals and gang bangers, it is not so much as "it could be used against us" as much as it WILL be used against us. Just give them time.
He'll be charged with being a member of a known terrorist group, possibly the TEA Party, or some other Patriot organization.
Well, I did not think of it that way, but you are probably right. That is why I say some liberal will prove he is a Tea party man and sooner or later, the POS liberals will declare the Tea Party a terrorist group. What a$$ holes they are.
That sounds like it could be easily abused by an unethical prosecutor.
If that's how it works, are they going to charge every Hollywood film producer who has portrayed gang activity in a movie?
It already has in Hong Kong (HK). Hong Kong has computer laws that were intended as a tool against cyber crimes such as hacking and internet fraud. However, they HK police have used this law to go after those who just post messages on various forums supporting, or aiding, the current protest here.
The police call it using a computer "with intent to commit an offense". It's a vaguely worded law that can mean anything the police want it to mean. Those convicted can face up to 5 years in prison.
I don’t think he’s being prosecuted for the content of his lyrics.
The lyrics are simply being used as evidence of his membership in the gang. The gang is by definition an ongoing criminal conspiracy. It’s been common law forever that if you’re part of a conspiracy you can be charged for acts committed by other members of the conspiracy that you might not even have known about.
Conspiracy law is a little odd, but there’s nothing new here.
>> It’s a slippery slope
Yup.
>> The lyrics are simply being used as evidence of his membership in the gang.
Membership alone seems tenuous.
Possibly. But the state’s contention is that the gang is an organized criminal conspiracy and therefore membership makes one a conspirator.
On what basis do you find that tenuous?
I’m guessing an active role in the gang is meaningful but not some vicarious membership determined to exist by virtue of possibly imaginative lyrics.
Good night ;)
This is what they used to go after the leader of the KKK who incited racial violence.
They should apply the law equally and go after all the big mouths who urged violence against whites and police officers as a result of the Martin and Brown cases. Enough of the loony left is enough.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.