In federal court in Central Islip, Jason Langhorn, an associate of the “Red Stone Gorilla” subset of the Bloods, a violent criminal enterprise based in Riverhead, New York, was sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert for his participation in the murder of Thomas Lacolla on November 17, 2015, which occurred while Langhorn and others were attempting to kill a rival of the gang. Langhorn pleaded guilty to firearms-related murder in August 2021.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the sentence.
“Langhorn has been held accountable for his role in a heartless shooting that claimed the life of an unintended victim,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “We hope today’s sentence brings a measure of solace and closure to the victim’s family and sends a clear message that those who commit brutal acts of gang violence will be brought to justice and punished.”
Mr. Peace also extended his thanks to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office’s East End Drug Task Force, the Suffolk County Police Department and the Riverhead Police Department for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.
As alleged in the indictment and court filings, the defendant assisted members of the Bloods as they tried to kill a rival gang member, which resulted in the shooting death of Mr. Lacolla. In an attempt to carry out a standing order by the leader of the gang to kill the rival, Langhorn accompanied several fellow Bloods members to a location in Riverside, New York, just outside of Riverhead. There, Langhorn and two others fired more than 39 shots, collectively, into a vehicle they believed was occupied by their intended target, but instead was occupied by Mr. Lacolla, who was shot and killed instantly.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Maffei and Nicole Boeckmann are in charge of the prosecution.