Member of Highs gang given nearly 20-year sentence in federal racketeering case

A member of a prominent Minneapolis street gang received a sentence of nearly 20 years in federal prison Wednesday as part of the government’s ongoing campaign targeting gang, gun and drug crimes in the Twin Cities.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced 32-year-old Montez Brown to more than 19½ years before issuing a scathing rebuke of the decadeslong violence she described as plaguing north Minneapolis and surrounding communities.

“This is the end of the line,” Brasel said, pointing out that Brown refused to turn away from gang activity after two previous state prison terms. “Prison is the only tool that I have, and being lenient here will deter no one.”

Brown, whose street name is “Tez Blood,” pleaded guilty last year to participating in a racketeering conspiracy and distributing fentanyl. His sentence Wednesday came nearly a year after he and dozens of others were indicted on charges brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

The RICO Act, first rolled out in the 1970s to go after organized crime families, is being used by U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger to link dozens of alleged members of prominent Minneapolis street gangs such as the rival Highs and Lows of north Minneapolis to murders, robberies, drug trafficking and gun crimes.

Prosecutors say the Highs street gang has “attempted to hijack much of north Minneapolis” for more than 20 years, rendering public spaces into open-air drug markets and preying on vulnerable youths. Brasel handed down the same sentence sought by prosecutors, who argued that Brown was “an entrenched member of the Highs, and his conduct has made his name synonymous with the Highs criminal enterprise.”

According to court filings, the Highs began laying claim to areas of north Minneapolis in 2004 and have since dominated a large swath of the community. They are engaged in a violent rivalry with the Lows gang; each gang’s name stems from their locations north or south of W. Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis.

In memos filed with the court, prosecutors wrote that Brown “explicitly engaged in attempted murder, distributed massive amounts of drugs, and regularly controlled numerous firearms — including a switch — along with tens of thousands of dollars in gang proceeds.”

Frederick Goetz, Brown’s attorney, asked for a prison term between 11 and 12 years. He said Brown had sought to better himself in the year since being jailed in this case, and pointed to a crowded courtroom of family members and supporters whom Goetz said would be there to assist Brown upon his release from incarceration.

Law enforcement officials arrested Brown in April 2023 and seized 9,700 fentanyl pills, thousands of dollars in cash and two firearms — including one outfitted with a machine gun conversion device, or switch, and an extended magazine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Wesley said that after Brown was arrested, he phoned relatives to try to coordinate getting rid of the fentanyl and drug proceeds left behind at a family member’s home. Before Brown’s sentencing on Wednesday, Wesley billed him as a “model Highs member.”

“He started at a young age and absolutely nothing has deterred him from criminal activity,” Wesley said.

Wesley said Brown sold counterfeit fentanyl pills as early as 2017 and “as far as I’m aware he is the first Highs member to do that and he is one of the first people to bring that dangerous drug to Minnesota.”

Brown was said to be a highly respected Highs member who encouraged fellow gang members and handed out guns to them one evening in 2021, as the Highs retaliated against the killing of one of their own by the Lows.

Brown tearfully apologized to the court and to his eight children before being sentenced on Wednesday. He described being raised in a house without a father present and said he looked to the streets for a “proper role model.”

“I know I’m going to prison for a long time,” Brown said. “Once I do get out I would like to … reach out to young kids in my community and tell them my experience — that no matter what, the streets will fail you.”