Alleged Crips gang leader sentenced for 2010 murder

<p>An alleged Crips gang leader was sentenced to four life terms Wednesday after being convicted of multiple violent felonies, including a 2010 murder.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 13, 2018, 9:53 PM

Updated 2,388 days ago

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An alleged Crips gang leader was sentenced Wednesday to four life terms after being convicted of multiple violent felonies, including a 2010 murder.
The top conviction for Eric Smith was for the December 2010 murder of rival Bloods gang leader James McClenic. Smith was convicted of fatally shooting McClenic, 19, several times in the neck while he sat in a car at a Citgo gas station in Hempstead.
Prosecutors say Smith marked McClenic for assassination because he had shot at members of the Crips, and was taunting and disrespecting them on social media.
Prosecutors say Smith then ordered younger Crips gang members to fire more than a dozen shots into the home of McClenic's grieving family on the day of the victim's burial.
Smith was defiant during his sentencing. He interrupted the judge several times calling the proceeding "madness" and that his human rights had been violated.
The victim's mother, Selena McClenic, was in the courtroom. She said that she was glad justice was served, but that she will never have her son back.