A federal jury convicted Houston rapper OMB Bloodbath and another gang leader of ordering a 2017 retaliatory shooting in Third Ward that killed a 53-year-old bystander. Bloodbath attends RapCaviar Presents James Harden & Friends at Bayou Music Center in 2021 in Houston.
Rick Kern/Getty Images for Spotify
A federal jury this week during a retrial convicted a Houston rapper in connection with a 2017 gang shooting in Third Ward that killed an innocent bystander.
OMB Bloodbath, whose real name is Alexandra Nicks, 32, was convicted of murder in aid of racketeering and of using a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death. The first trial in January ended in a mistrial when the jury was deadlocked after two days of deliberation.
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Shaquille O’Neal Richards, who led the 100% Third Ward Gang alongside Nicks, was also convicted of the same two charges. The 100% Third Ward Gang, also known as the 103 Gang, fought the rival Young Scott Block gang in Third Ward throughout the 2010s, according to the Justice Department.
During an October 2017 shooting in the OST-South Union neighborhood, a rival gang member was wounded but survived. Bystander Samuel Johnson, 53, was standing in the front yard of his home when he was fatally shot.
Prosecutors in both trials relied on text messages and recorded jail phone calls between Nicks and Richards to make their case. While neither was there on the day of the shooting, prosecutors argued the pair’s communications showed they commanded other gang members through “whispered orders, coded messages, and the use of loyal associates to carry out orders behind the scenes without hesitation.”
Judith Shields, Nicks’ attorney, said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle that Nicks’ team is “deeply disappointed by the verdict,” and thanks thanked the jurors for their time and service, “even as we profoundly disagree with the result.” Shields argued that the evidence presented in the case shows “no order, no payment and no plan connecting” Nicks to Johnson’s killing. Shields, in her statement, vowed to “continue to fight” for Nicks.
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“This case is not over,” the statement read. “Significant legal issues were raised and preserved during this trial — issues concerning the court’s evidentiary rulings, and the sufficiency of the government’s proof on the elements of these charges. We believe those issues have real merit, and we will pursue them fully, through post-trial motions and on appeal … Our thoughts are also with the family of Sam Johnson, whose loss is real and whom nothing in this case diminishes.”
An attorney for Richards could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Nicks and Richards could each face up to life in prison. They are scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 4. The two were indicted in 2023 after prosecutors said they coordinated and directed a shooting targeting members of the rival Young Scott Block gang.
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Nicks’ rap career was gaining momentum before her indictment; she had signed a major-label recording deal three years before her indictment. The label was backed by Interscope Records.
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Mertroy Harris, a gang member involved in the attack who pleaded guilty to using a firearm during a crime resulting in death, testified at the start of the July retrial. Harris testified that gang leaders, including Richards and Nicks, had pressured lower-ranking members to fight back against YSB after recent shootings in the area.
Harris, along with three other gang members, has pleaded guilty in connection with the shooting. They are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 2, the Justice Department said. Three gang members fled the 2017 shooting by carjacking a woman who had her infant in the vehicle, the Justice Department said.
The case is part of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative. The initiative brings together local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.
“Too often, turf wars between violent neighborhood gangs claim innocent victims,” Jason Hudson, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office, said in a news release. “When we leverage our federal resources and law enforcement partnerships, we not only double down on the war against violent crime happening on our streets and front yards, we also procure justice for entire communities terrorized by these criminals.”
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John Wayne Ferguson contributed to this report.