A gang associate was convicted Wednesday of executing two purported Russian mobsters in the South Bay in order to convince the organization that he should be approved for membership, according to federal prosecutors.
Justin Gray, 40, of San Pedro, lured the victims from San Diego to Lomita, where with the aid of another associate, he shot both victims in the head, evidence showed.
The October 2020 murders of Allan Roshanski, 34, of Vista, and Ruslan Magomedgadzhiev, 40, of Tarzana, were carried out on the orders of gang leader Francis Clement, who was then serving time in Kern Valley State Prison, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial in Fresno federal court.
The order had been given over “disrespect” one of the victims had shown to the prison gang, authorities said.
Gray, who was convicted of two counts of committing murder in aid of racketeering, was a member of a gang that takes orders from and works under the prison gang, authorities said. He faces a mandatory life sentence when he is sentenced in the Eastern District of California on Nov. 23.
The trial was part of a larger investigation charging Gray and 20 other defendants with a variety of criminal offenses, including RICO conspiracy, VICAR murder, and narcotics offenses, all related to their alleged criminal activities as members and associates of the prison gang.
“These murders are a stark reminder that criminal organizations can direct violence from behind prison walls,” Rob Cekada, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said in a statement. “ATF and our law enforcement partners are committed to dismantling these networks and holding accountable the individuals responsible for these senseless murders.”
Clement, 59, was found guilty last year of RICO conspiracy and five separate counts of murder in aid of racketeering. Each of the murders was committed while Clement was in state prison. He was sentenced to life behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.