Something straight out of The Substitute
Former Boston high school dean and Latin Kings gang member Shaun Harrison tried to out confidential informant after shooting student, authorities say
As authorities detailed the investigation and arrest of more than 60 alleged gang members involved in the
Almighty Latin Kings and Queen Nation, a familiar name in Boston popped up.
Shaun Harrison, known as “Rev” to his students at English High School in Jamaica Plain, was very much part of the gang and wasn’t lying when he bragged about being tied to the Latin Kings, federal authorities said, as details into “Operation Throne Down” were discussed Thursday.
Harrison is now facing federal charges in the massive gang sweep. In the federal records detailing the investigation, there is a photo of Harrison’s Latin Kings tattoo.
Harrison, a trusted high school dean, used to mentor gang members and led anger management classes, according to the
Boston Globe. But he had another side to him, one that authorities said led to him shooting a 17-year-old student in the head in 2015.
United States Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew E. Lelling said Harrison, while in prison for the 2015 shooting, worked with the East Coast Latin Kings to figure out the identity of the confidential informant involved in his case.
Harrison’s goal was to have fellow gang members handle the confidential informant, Lelling said.
“As has been previously reported in Boston in 2015, a trusted high school dean, Shaun Harrison, tried to murder a 17-year-old student from his own school over a drug debt,” Lelling said. “Harrison, who is in today’s indictment, is a member of the Latin Kings, and the shooting was related to Latin Kings business. Moreover, as detailed in filings made public today, based on recorded calls, while in prison for the shooting, Harrison worked with the Latin Kings to figure out the identity of the confidential informant that was part of the investigation of the shooting in his case so the LK gang could find this confidential informant and retaliate against him or her.”
On May 31, 2018, Harrison was
convicted by a Suffolk Superior Court jury on armed assault with intent to murder and several other charges in the attempted killing. The following day, Harrison was sentenced to 23 to 26 years in state prison followed by five years of probation.
Prosecutors David Bradley and Kevin McCarthy argued Harrison recruited the student at English High School to sell marijuana.
“Harrison became dissatisfied with the victim’s marijuana sales and, on March 3, 2015, arranged for the victim to be assaulted at school,” the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office said at the time of his conviction. “He then texted the victim and arranged to meet near Harrison’s Pompeii Street apartment that evening. The two walked together to the area of Magazine Street, where a surveillance camera captured Harrison shoot the victim in the back of the head.”
The victim collapsed but was able to get up and flag down a nearby car to help him. The victim was rushed to Boston Medical Center and survived. The shooting was in Roxbury.
The victim said “Rev” was the shooter.
Boston police searched Harrison’s apartment and a storage unit. Guns, ammunition and clothing worn at the time of the shooting were discovered, according to investigators. Harrison is appealing his conviction.
Federal records unsealed in the
four-year investigation into the Latin Kings revealed gang members were talking in August 2018 about Harrison.
A recorded phone call between Harrison and a member of the DK5 Latin Kings chapter in Boston caught Harrison discussing the confidential informant in his case on July 25, 2019, records show.
The gang member on the phone was also snared in the investigation.
Harrison pointed out that he noticed in his paperwork that “there was a CI (confidential informant) on my case,” federal records show.
Harrison didn’t know the person’s name, however. He added that he wrote to his appeals lawyer and asked for the affidavit of what the informant said.
Harrison, according to federal paperwork, then told the fellow gang member, that he would send a letter with the identity of the informant.
On July 27, 2019, Harrison called the other gang member and said, “You should get my letter soon.”
The other gang member and Harrison spoke again that night and continued to talk about identifying the informant, records show.
“We need to know because it had to be somebody around us at the time and we really didn’t have much people around us,” the gang member said.
“I’m gonna write. I’m not gonna on the phone, but I’m gonna write,” Harrison responded. “I’ll let you know his name but I don’t want to say anything on the phone. Imma write you cause I do have an idea.”
Information about the confidential informant was suppressed in Harrison’s case involving the shooting, according to Harrison’s phone call.
Harrison and the other gang member had more discussions in July and August where they try to figure out the informant’s name, records show.
During Harrison’s trial, prosecutors said Harrison shot the student because he was worried officials were going to learn about the marijuana dealing, according to the Boston Globe.
Federal records said the teen was shot behind his right ear. The bullet lodged in his cheek.
The victim told investigators, the day after the shooting, that he knew “Rev” for a month and owed him a $10 drug debt.
The victim said Harrison was a Latin Kings gang member responsible for recruiting new drug dealers at the school.
The word “Rev” was posted on Harrison’s office door at the school.
Harrison was interviewed after the shooting. He claimed he did not know anything about it, records said.
Detectives then asked him if he would talk if he knew the shooting was caught on video.
“I respectfully request an attorney,” Harrison responded.
Detectives saw three Latin Kings in the surveillance video of the shooting. One of them was the same gang member Harrison talked with on the phone from the jail, records show.
Those gang members, according to federal investigators, helped clean guns and drugs out of Harrison’s apartment after the shooting.