A 63-year-old man who lived a double life as a high school dean in Boston and a member of the Latin Kings gang was sentenced to over 18 years in prison on May 4 after he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, federal authorities announced.
Per NBC Boston, Shaun Harrison worked as an academic dean at English High School. He was initially sentenced to over 20 years in prison in 2018 after he shot a student he had allegedly recruited to sell drugs for him.
Prosecutors said Harrison shot the student after suspecting he had stolen money from him and did not want to sell drugs any longer, adding that the convicted man also thought the student could also notify police about the illegal act. However, the student, who Harrison shot in the back of the head, survived.
Harrison’s racketeering conviction came after prosecutors accused him of using his position as an academic dean to recruit students for the Latin Kings gang. The convicted man got three years of supervised release as well as credit for serving 98 months.
“Shaun Harrison led a double life – using his position as a high school dean to engage in violence and recruit at-risk youth into a violent criminal enterprise. Today’s sentence ensures he will stay in prison and off our city streets for a significant period of time,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, said. “The convergence of gangs, guns, and drugs are a serious threat to our communities which the FBI and our law enforcement partners are working hard every day to address.”
The Latin Kings gang is described by federal authorities as “a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States.”
