Minneapolis gang member pleads guilty to federal racketeering charge

A Minneapolis gang member admitted to selling fentanyl through stores on West Broadway Avenue on the city’s Northside has reached a plea deal in a federal racketeering case.

Maron Bailey, one of nearly 60 gang members indicted this year as part of a massive crackdown on street crime, entered a guilty plea Thursday to one conspiracy charge under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. His sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.

Court documents state Bailey was a member of the “Highs” gang, which primarily operates north of Broadway in Minneapolis.

In January, investigators found Bailey with 175 fentanyl pills at the Boost Mobile store at the corner of Broadway and Lyndale avenues — an area Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison once dubbed Minneapolis’ “largest open-air drug market.”

When brought into custody for questioning, Bailey said he would buy 100-200 of the pills at a time and then sell them through Boost Mobile and across the street at Merwin Liquors and Winner Gas, according to court documents. He estimated he had been selling fentanyl “on a regular basis” since 2021.

Bailey was among a group of 45 gang members indicted on racketeering, drugs and firearms charges in April. Another batch of 14 indictments came in August.

At least three other gang members indicted as part of the investigation have come forward with guilty pleas: Chase Robertson, Dennis Mobley and Deon Williams.