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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.\u00a0Bloodbath attends RapCaviar Presents James Harden & Friends at Bayou Music Center in 2021 in Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rick Kern\/Getty Images for Spotify<\/p>\n
A federal jury this week during a retrial\u00a0convicted a Houston rapper\u00a0in connection with a 2017 gang\u00a0shooting in Third Ward<\/a> that killed an innocent bystander.<\/p>\n OMB Bloodbath<\/a>, whose real name is Alexandra Nicks, 32, was convicted of murder in aid of racketeering and\u00a0of 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.<\/p>\n LEE GILLEY CASE:\u00a0Deal could spare lawyer Dick DeGuerin from contempt proceedings in Lee Gilley capital murder case<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Shaquille O\u2019Neal 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Prosecutors in both\u00a0trials 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\u2019s communications showed they commanded other gang members through \u201cwhispered orders, coded messages, and the use of loyal associates to carry out orders behind the scenes without hesitation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “This case is not over,” the statement read. “Significant legal issues were raised and preserved during this trial \u2014 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.”<\/p>\n An attorney for Richards could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n