A key figure in the local drug scene in Los Angeles has been handed a 14-year federal prison sentence. Damion Baker, known as "Fatts," a reputed leader of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, was sentenced for spearheading a crack cocaine enterprise that thrived in the gang's claimed territory, including the Nickerson Gardens public housing projects in Watts, the Department of Justice reported.
Baker's operation, running from August 2019 to May 2020, involved orchestrating the conversion of powder cocaine into crack for distribution, and while he directed his co-conspirators in the drug's sale and delivery, they were also implicated in managing drug proceeds across the gang's South Los Angeles stronghold. Following his plea of guilty to cocaine trafficking and firearm possession charges, United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha ruled on the multi-year sentence for the 46-year-old, who has been detained since April 2021.
The sentencing memorandum paints Baker as "the most culpable and essential figure" in the criminal network that brought turmoil to the vicinity, with the prosecution detailing his role in using a Nickerson Gardens residence as a drug hub, his involvement in recruiting staff for sales, and his past felony convictions barring him from firearm possession. Baker's decision to forfeit more than $44,000 in cash and the seized firearm was part of his plea agreement.
Other members of the ring have either entered guilty pleas or are awaiting sentencing, including Tony Carr, aka "T-Bone," who was described by authorities as Baker's second-in-command he pled guilty in July 2022 to related charges, and was thereafter sentenced by Judge Aenlle-Rocha in October to 188 months in federal prison. The investigation leading to these convictions was carried out by the FBI's Los Angeles Metropolitan Task Force on Violent Gangs in collaboration with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Assistant United States Attorney Amy E. Pomerantz of the Violent and Organized Crime Section led the prosecution against the gang members. Public Information Officer Ciaran McEvoy confirmed the details of the sentencing to media outlets.
