A Brooklyn man affiliated with the Cypress Gangsta Crips was convicted Monday of murdering the gang’s leader in a move prosecutors said was motivated by revenge for a friend’s killing. Jason “Twin” Soto, 37, was found guilty by a federal jury of murder in aid of racketeering, cocaine possession with intent to distribute, and causing the 2015 firearm death of Shakim “Stacks” Rivera. Soto faces a mandatory life sentence.

According to prosecutors, Rivera ordered the killing of Demetrius “Duke” Graham, a fellow gang member, after Graham began selling drugs with another group without sharing profits with the Crips. Rivera allegedly sent two associates to fatally shoot Graham while he was asleep. Enraged by this act, Soto split from Rivera’s leadership and orchestrated Rivera’s death.

On February 22, 2015, Soto lured Rivera to a residential street in Canarsie, Brooklyn, where he shot him in the back of the head. The trial, which lasted two weeks, grew out of a decade-long federal investigation into violent crime and drug trafficking around the Cypress Hills Houses in East New York.

“These violent acts terrorized residents of the Cypress Hills Houses,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement following the verdict. “This conviction demonstrates that law enforcement will hold criminal enterprises accountable for their violent crimes, regardless of how long the investigation takes.”

During the trial, prosecutors introduced portions of an unpublished memoir Soto wrote between 2016 and 2018 while incarcerated on separate drug and gun charges. The manuscript, found on Soto’s phone, detailed his perspective on gang loyalty, betrayal, and vengeance. In vivid terms, Soto described his animosity toward “rats” who became informants and his sorrow over losing Graham, whom he considered a close brother. One passage depicted a dream where Soto explained to Graham’s spirit the reasons behind the betrayal that led to his death.

Federal prosecutors also played a recorded phone call between Soto and his twin brother Jonathan, who was imprisoned at Rikers Island at the time. In the call, Soto expressed his anger and vow for retribution against Rivera. Jonathan attempted to calm him, urging him to reconsider and avoid speaking impulsively.

Soto’s conviction marks a significant development in addressing gang-related violence in Brooklyn, illustrating the federal government’s continued focus on dismantling criminal organizations connected to drug trafficking and murder.