2/28 –Bloods Gang Leader Sentenced to at 40 years in Prison

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By John Burton
FREEHOLD – A leader in the Sex, Money, Murder set of the Bloods criminal street gang was sentenced yesterday to a lengthy prison sentence for a 2006 month-long, violence-ridden spree in Monmouth County, which included murder in Long Branch.
Valdo Thompson, a 28-year-old Jackson resident, who is also known as “Soldier Boy” and “SB,” 28, Jackson, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in state Superior Court, on charges of murder, attempted murder and racketeering, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Thompson, who authorities said was a “five-star general” with the street gang, admitted in court in November to being a gang member and participating in the gang’s criminal activities, including murder, attempted murder and drug distribution.
Thompson will have to serve at least 30 years of his sentence before being considered for parole, Webster said.
Thompson was charged in connection with the Nov. 21, 2006 shooting of Michael Montgomery and Keith Logan on Hendrickson Street, Long Branch. Montgomery, a member of the Brick City Brims set of the Bloods, died of a result of the gunshot. Logan, a member of the G-shine set of the Bloods, was the intended victim, but survived the gunshot to the abdomen, according to authorities.
Five other gang members, who were working in concert with Thompson, have been convicted for their involvement. Those members were also found to be involved with the Dec. 14, 2012 murder of Keith Mason and the home-invasion robbery of Mason’s Second Avenue, Long Branch, home. The gang members shot Mason and left him to die, with Mason’s young son, who was not physically injured but was left with his dying father, according to Webster.
“The final chapter is now closed on this period of senseless violence and once again the overriding message is clear: The violence plaguing our neighborhoods must stop because it leads to nothing but very long prison terms,” Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a released statement.