A former member of the Latin Kings gang who also worked at Boston Public Schools was sentenced on Thursday to more than 18 years in prison on racketeering charges, according to the federal authorities.
Shaun Harrison, 63, was an academic dean at English High School who prosecutors said used his position to recruit students into the Latin Kings gang. He was sentenced to 218 months in prison, with credit for 98 months’ time served, and three years of supervised release.
Harrison pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity.
In 2018, Harrison was convicted of shooting a student in the back of the head, who he thought had stolen money from him, no longer wanted to sell drugs and may tell the police about the scheme, prosecutors said. The student survived, and Harrison was sentenced to around 25 years in state prison for that crime.
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“Shaun Harrison led a double life – using his position as a high school dean to engage in violence and recruit at-risk youth into a violent criminal enterprise. Today’s sentence ensures he will stay in prison and off our city streets for a significant period of time,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The convergence of gangs, guns, and drugs are a serious threat to our communities which the FBI and our law enforcement partners are working hard every day to address.”
Federal authorities refer to the Latin Kings as a "a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States."
