It looks like 2021 is the year of the RICO charge.
The most recent group of rappers to get hit with a RICO case
is the Sama Gang, a Haitian American gang from West Palm Beach, Florida
accused of drug trafficking, murders,
shootings and more.
Let’s take a look at what went down.
On October 14th, 2021,
West Palm Beach County Sherriff’s Office arrested nine men,
including a juvenile murder suspect in a crackdown on gang activity in the area.
Sheriff Rick Bradshaw gave a press conference
where he made it clear that Florida was not playin around when it comes to gangs.
He told the media “gangs are a cancer in the community
and we’re going to cut the cancer out.
If you’re a gang member,
keep looking over your shoulder because we’re coming for you.”
The RICO case was called Operation No Face and focused on the Sama Gang,
a group primarily made up of Haitian Americans in West Palm Beach,
Riviera, and Lake Park, Florida.
Police say, back in March,
members of the gang filed paperwork for two LLC’s listed with Lake Park addresses.
The gang also had their own website promoting their music
and even a consulting business for advice on planning parties.
A social media search also showed multiple music videos,
some showing illegal guns and contraband.
Seven search warrants were executed including 6 in Palm Beach County
and 1 in St. Lucie County.
According to sheriffs, the gang was apart of multiple crimes,
including over 50 shootings, car theft,
drug trafficking, and extortion.
Eight adults were arrested along with one minor,
who had a gun on him during his arrest.
Police are still looking for one more suspect.
Three of the men arrested are local rappers,
including Lil Snipe, Bangout Bamo, and Baby Glock.
The gang first went by the Haitian Boys but changed their name to Sama gang
after the death of a well-known rapper from the crew named Jayo Sama.
Jonas Joseph – aka Jayo Sama
was a 22-year-old rapper from Lake Park who was killed back in January 2019.
Police found him unresponsive in the passenger seat of a car
and believe he was shot near 4th street and Haverhill Road.
He was brought to the hospital but later pronounced dead.
Jayo Sama first started gaining a buzz back in 2016 with the track Intro,
which has racked up over 1 million views since it dropped.
But before rap, Jayo had it rough.
He was raised by a single mother and dropped out of school for constantly getting in fights.
He got caught up in the street life,
but consistently focused on building a music career and making it out of the hood.
But coming up in a cutthroat state like Florida, it wasn’t easy for Jayo Sama to break through
and he was in and out of jail in his teen years.
In an interview with Say Cheese TV, he said he got arrested at least 5 times before rap.
But he stayed consistent with his music and started building a buzz in late 2016
with the track Intro.
But throughout his come up, Jayo had one foot in and one foot out of the streets.
He got locked up until March 2018 for selling heroin.
When he got out, he released all the music he wrote while locked up.
This included the track You Sleep,
which paid tribute to more than two dozen people from his hood
who had been killed over the past decade.
Jayo’s reputation in the city continued to grow, which attracted the attention of the police.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office would arrest him in May 2018,
after he posted a video of himself holding a gun.
Since he was a convicted felon, the rapper was not allowed
to be in possession of any weapons and got locked up for violating his probation.
He later got out on bail and was fighting that case at the time of his death.
In October 2018,
Jayo posted a photo to his Instagram of an ultrasound,
showin that his girlfriend was pregnant.
But sadly, before he even met his unborn son,
Jayo Sama was murdered in January 2019.
After he died, the Haitian Boys started going by the name Sama gang in his honor.
Now, Samo gang is being tied to multiple homicides
and other crimes committed over the past few years.
Another popular rapper connected with the Sama Gang – Lil Snipe
is being connected to a few separate crimes that police say was intended to benefit the gang.
The first was in 2017
when Snipe and two other men got pulled over and arrested for drug possession and gun charges.
Police pulled them over and reportedly smelled marijuana.
After searching the car, they found crack, heroin, marijuana, and 2 stolen guns.
Snipe told police that the drugs and weapons wasn't his,
but they already knew he was a member of the Sama Gang
who was still going by the name Haitian boys at that time.
Snipe voluntarily submitted to a DNA test to prove that the guns ain’t belong to him.
But the test showed his DNA was on the trigger of one of the pistols.
So he got arrested for weapons possession and was placed on probation.
But it wasn’t long before he reoffended and caught another case.
A few months later, police arrested Snipe for violating his probation
after he was holding a pistol on IG Live with Jayo Sama.
The cops had been monitoring his social media and recorded the video
to prove he violated his probation.
Police sent the video to the ATF, who determined the guns were real
and Lil Snipe was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Lil Snipe would lay low for the next few years and avoid getting in trouble.
But another incident in 2021 would get him locked up again,
after police responded to a car crash in Riviera Beach.
On the way to the scene, they heard gunshots
and saw a Black Ford smashing down the street, into a gas station,
and then down another street.
They followed the car and ran the license plate
and found out it was stolen.
So they continued to pursue the vehicle which turned into a high-speed chase.
At one point, the car slowed down
and passengers started throwing weapons out of the window.
Eventually, the car pulled over and three men hopped out and ran away.
The police got the K-9 unit who started searching the area
and saw a man in a black hoodie walking by himself nearby
with his pants around his ankles and he was soaking wet.
He was arrested and later revealed to be Lil Snipe.
Police found two rifles that the passengers tossed out of the window during the chase.
So, Snipe was charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon,
resisting an officer, and armed trespassing.
Each of these crimes is a violation of the Florida State RICO act.
Because Lil Snipe is allegedy a member of the Sama gang,
police say the crimes were committed with the goal of enhancing the gang.
Other rappers in the RICO takedown include Bangout Bamo and Baby Glock.
Baby Glock is the minor they arrested, so not much info is available about his involvement.
But he is listed as a murder suspect
and police say he had a gun on him when he got arrested.
Bangout Bamo was charged for multiple crimes over the past few years.
He previously got arrested for possession of a firearm,
possession of marijuana over 20 grams,
and possession of cocaine, after police searched his car and home in 2015
and found illicit drugs and stolen firearms.
He got arrested again a year later after police searched his crib,
investigating a local shooting, and found multiple guns in his home.
Bamo was living with his mom and siblings and said the weapons weren’t his.
But he still got arrested for possession of a firearm,
after admitting to knowing about one of the guns and that his DNA may have been on it.
He got arrested again in 2017
and charged with possession of marijuana and heroin with intent to sell.
All of these charges got him caught up in the RICO case he's currently fighting.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff made it clear that the state of Florida
is not tolerating any gang activity.
Over the past few months, multiple gang- -affiliated rappers have been arrested in Florida,
including those who are from the state like 9lock9ine and HotBoii,
and also rappers who were just passing through or moved to Miami,
like Pooh Shiesty and Fredo Bang.
State RICO cases ain’t as harsh as Federal racketeering charges.
So, there’s some hope that the Samo gang can cop a plea deal
and make it out sooner than later.
But with their main rappers either locked up or dead,
it might be hard for them to afford good lawyers to fight the case.
Even if they can get the charges reduced, they’re going to spend a long time in court,
which gets expensive.
Hopefully, Lil Snipe and Bangout Bamo
can hold it down and make sure everyone is straight
so they can look forward to freedom.