Las Vegas gang member sentenced to life in prison

By Mary Manning

Monday, June 30, 2008 | 4:51 p.m.

A Las Vegas man received a life sentence today after a federal jury convicted him for murder, attempted murder, assault and firearms offenses, U.S. Attorney Gregory A. Brower said.

Jonathon Toliver, also known as "K-Boose," was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Philip Pro.

The 23-year-old Toliver is a member of a Las Vegas street gang known as "Squad Up."

Toliver was convicted by a jury in March on the charges.

Toliver's co-defendant, 19-year-old Donnie Bryant, also known as "Little Donnie," was convicted in February of the same charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21.

"Jonathon Toliver planned and executed a vicious ambush with fellow gang members resulting in the death of Gilbert Henry, causing permanent injury to a young woman who was babysitting a toddler and infant, and creating a grave risk of harm or death to numerous individuals in an apartment complex," Brower said.

"This sentence should send the message that membership in a violent street gang is a ticket to federal prison," Brower said.

Toliver and other Squad Up members, including Bryant, staged an attack on Sept. 13, 2004 at the Buena Vista Apartments in North Las Vegas between Carey Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, according to court records.

Witnesses testified that they saw Bryant and other gang members passing out guns days before the attack, after arguing with a man from New Orleans. Henry, the man who was shot and killed, was a cousin of the New Orleans resident.

A woman caring for two toddlers and an infant in a nearby apartment has permanent damage to one of her hands after a bullet shattered a window and flew into the apartment where she and the children were staying.

Evidence at trial revealed that Bryant fired first into a group of people, causing them to run from the gunfire of Toliver and another attacker.