Romeo Blackman, the reputed leader of the Goonie Gang, was born with cocaine and alcohol in his system.
That — coupled with his young age at the time of his alleged crimes — made it likely his brain wasn’t fully developed and should bar prosecutors from seeking a mandatory life sentence for his murder convictions, his defense attorneys say.
Last year, Blackman was found guilty of conspiring with other gang members in killings on the South Side.
A jury found the Goonies killed six people and wounded five others in shootings from 2014 to 2018.
Blackman, 29, also was involved in a 2016 smash-and-grab burglary of 20 guns from a store in Streator, 100 miles west of Chicago, prosecutors said.
The gang also allegedly trafficked guns from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Chicago.
In a recent court filing, his lawyers Christopher Grohman and Patrick Blegen said the government’s proposed life sentence would be unconstitutionally “cruel and unusual” punishment.
They cited research showing male brains aren’t fully developed at 18, which was Blackman’s age when he committed some of his crimes. His lawyers also referred to hospital records showing Blackman tested positive for cocaine and alcohol in his system when he was born at the University of Chicago Medical Center in 1995.
“Scientists have uncovered connections between fetal exposure to cocaine and behavioral problems, including difficulties with self-regulation,” their filing said.
Blackman’s lawyers pointed to a Massachusetts Supreme Court decision in early 2024 that bars life sentences without the chance of parole for people convicted of crimes they committed when they were 18, 19 or 20. They also disputed prosecutors’ characterization of Blackman as the gang’s leader.
In a court filing last week, prosecutors responded that federal law allows only two possible sentences for Blackman for his particular racketeering conviction: Death, or life in prison.
The Goonie Gang, affiliated with the Gangster Disciples, is one of three hyper-violent factions of Chicago street gangs, including O Block and the Hobos, that federal authorities have taken down in recent years using racketeering laws originally designed to fight Italian-American mobsters.
Blackman, known as O-Dog, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. He’s among four Goonies convicted of racketeering. Nathaniel McElroy, 27, is serving a 204-month sentence and Jolicious Turman 33, and Terrance Smith, 28, are also awaiting sentencing.
From 2014 to 2018, prosecutors say, the Goonies terrorized Englewood, shooting at rival gang members four to five times a day.