Brooklyn MC Ra Diggs Gets 12 Life Sentences For Murder, Drug Dealing

Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis wasted little time in sentencing notorious gang member Ronald Herron, who rapped under the alias Ra Diggs, to 12 life sentences plus 105 additional years in prison yesterday. Diggs, 33, had been convicted last June on 21 counts that encompassed racketeering and drug trafficking charges as well as three murders for his activities as part of the Murderous Mad Dawgs crew of Bloods, which ran drugs through two project houses in Boerum Hill in Brooklyn, according to The New York Times.


The proceedings yesterday, according to the paper, were anything but calm; Diggs excoriated the prosecution for “paint[ing] this picture that I’m the devil incarnate,” adding, “They did all but point a big, red arrow of guilty up on that projection screen.” Friends and supporters called out in Diggs’ defense, while the sister of one of his murder victims delivered a tearful testimony; later, in response to a quip from the judge, several of Diggs’ supporters were escorted from the courtroom for trying to shout over the proceedings. Diggs was initially arrested in 2010.

“You have shown a complete lack of remorse for your abhorrent conduct,” Judge Garaufis told Diggs in handing down his sentence. “Even today, in this courtroom, you give answers that show you are clueless about the misery you have inflicted on other people and you are reconstructing through some fantastic thoughts what has happened in this case.”

Diggs was a frequent collaborator with fellow Brooklyn MC Uncle Murda throughout the mid-to-late-2000s as part of the duo Murda Team, and the two were featured together on Waka Flocka Flame’s “Live By The Gun” off Waka’s 2010 debut album Flockaveli. According to previous reports by the Times, the jury requested copies of testimony from three witnesses as well as one of Diggs’ music videos, for the song “We All Fucked Up” featuring Uncle Murda, before delivering their verdict after just one day of deliberation. The prosecution had shown various music videos made by Diggs throughout the trial and called in a linguistics expert to break down how rappers use lyrics.


Uncle Murda, who testified for Diggs’ defense team during his trial, tried to explain Diggs’ status as a serious recording artist, but ultimately U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch prevailed during the 2014 trial. “He styled himself as a rap artist, but the jury’s verdict makes clear who Herron really is: a drug dealer and murderer who sought power through fear and intimidation,” Lynch said after the verdict was revealed.