Rapper And Gang Leader Ra Diggs Loses Appeal In Murder, Drug Case

BOERUM HILL, BROOKLYN — A federal court of appeals upheld the conviction Friday of Ronald "Ra Diggs" Herron, a Brooklyn rapper and gang leader that ran a drug ring out of the Gowanus and Wyckoff Houses.

Herron was found guilty in 2014 of murder and a series of firearms, robbery and drug offenses associated with his time as the ring leader of the "Murderous Mad Dogs Bloods" gang, which controlled the drug trade in the two housing complexes. He had killed off several rivals during his time running the drug ring from the late 90s to 2011, prosecutors said.

In his appeal, Herron claimed that his rights had been violated during the five-week trial, including that the prosecutors shouldn't have been allowed to use his own rap lyrics against him.

The federal court, though, said the videos and songs' value to the case outweighed any potential violation of his First Amendment freedom of expression.

"The videos ‐‐ offered as evidence of Herronʹs participation in the charged conspiracies and crimes, his position as a leader of the MMDB, his familiarity with firearms and the drug trade, and his relationship to certain cooperating witnesses ‐‐ are plainly relevant," the court said.

Herron had boasted about murders and drug deals in the songs and music videos, according to the Brooklyn Eagle. In one song Waka Flocka Flame song called "Live by the Gun," where Herron was featured, he sings about killing those who tried to shoot him.

“Ask my n—- Uncle when I murder with the chopper/N— shot me five times, two days later, the n—- died. N—- shooting at the five is committing a suicide,” Herron rapped.

The court also denied Herron's claim that prosecutors shouldn't have been allowed to admit cell-site evidence that showed him in the vicinity of the Wyckoff Houses during one of the murders.

Herron is currently serving his sentence of 12 life terms, plus 105 years, in a "Supermax" federal prison in Colorado, officials said.

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