LOS ANGELES
A long-time senior leader of the South Los Angeles-based East Coast Crips street gang was arrested Wednesday on a federal grand jury indictment alleging a decades-long conspiracy to murder rivals, extort local business, and distribute narcotics, officials stated.
Paul 
Gary Wallace, 54, also known as “Doc” and “Uncle Bill,” of South Los Angeles, was taken into federal custody Wednesday by the FBI and Los Angeles Police Department.
Wallace is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime resulting in death.
If convicted of all charges, Wallace is facing up to life in prison.
According to the indictment, Wallace was a member of the Crips for more than 30 years and rose to become the leader and most influential member of the gang’s “6-Pacc” set, a series of cliques of the gang responsible for control over territory in South Los Angeles.
The indictment describes how Wallace maintained his control over the gang through violence and intimidation.
Wallace allegedly murdered and conspired to commit murder to enhance the gang’s violent reputation, to enhance his status within the gang, to retaliate against rivals, and to enforce discipline within the gang.
The indictment specifically alleges Wallace’s involvement in two murders.
On February 9, 2003, Wallace allegedly repeatedly shot and killed a fellow Crips gang member who had publicly disrespected Wallace.
On November 13, 2014, Wallace ordered the murder of a rival gang member, drove co-conspirators to the victim’s house, and personally handed a co-conspirator a firearm, which the co-conspirator used to murder the victim, the indictment alleges.
The murder weapon, an AK-47-style assault rifle, was later found in Wallace’s van.
As a leader of the Crips Wallace’s other criminal conduct included selling drugs in gang territory, extorting local businesses, presiding over robberies, and engaging in other acts of violence, including intimidation, assaults, and shootings against the gang’s rivals, according to the indictment.
Wallace is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.