Wakinyan Wakan McArthur is seen in this wanted poster from 2012.

A federal judge sentenced a leader of the Native Mob gang to 43 years in prison.

Wakinyon Wakan McArthur, 36, was found guilty in March 2013 on racketeering, conspiracy and gun and drug charges. Federal prosecutors wanted to put him away for life, plus another 30 years, but the judge said he should be able to return to society at some point, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

“You have what anyone would agree was horrible childhood,” Judge John Tunheim told McArthur, the paper reported. “No one should have had a childhood like that.”

McArthur and two other gang leaders were the most high-profile targets of an operation that led to the convictions of 28 people.

According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, the gang got its start among American Indian inmates.

Get the Story:
Leader of Native Mob gang gets 43 years for racketeering, violence (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 9/30)

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