Reputed gang boss pleads guilty to sharing gun range trip on Instagram

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Labar “Bro Man” Spann is accused of participating in all six slayings, including the June 2003 murder of Latin Kings gangster Rudy “Kato” Rangel, whose death inspired the track “A ‘Yo Kato” by rapper DMX. | 2010 mug shot

A former reputed West Side gang leader pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal weapons charges after shooting a gun at a west suburban firing range and then bragging about it on Instagram.

With a string of felony convictions dating back to 1996, Labar Spann wasn’t lawfully allowed to handle a weapon when he went to Midwest Sporting Goods in Lyons on Sept. 14, 2014, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

But Spann, a one-time leader of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang who goes by “Bro Man,” posted a series of videos to his Instagram profile, showing people inside the range with gunshots heard in the background, prosecutors said.

An employee at the range said one of the two women he went with rented a Glock 19C .9mm handgun, which Spann loaded for them as the trio took turns shooting, prosecutors said.

“Yea this the type of s— I do with my b—— so why n—–’s chase p—- I’m chasing loyalty and [money bag emoji],” Spann wrote in a caption for one video.

Another photo posted to his account minutes later showed a shooting target with holes in it, prosecutors claim. Its caption said, “y’all know I had to go first just to show my b—- how this s— work lmao I do this s—,” according to a criminal complaint.

Spann, who uses a wheelchair because he was wounded in a shooting, wasn’t allowed to use a weapon because he had previously been convicted of witness harassment, armed robbery and bringing contraband into a penal institution.

Spann was also acquitted of the 2003 murder of Latin Kings gangster Rudy Rangel Jr., whose death inspired the track “A’Yo Kato” by DMX, and he was one of several West Side gang leaders called to a controversial meeting with then-Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis in 2010, the Chicago Sun-Times previously reported.

Following his visit to the shooting range — which was captured on surveillance video — Spann was charged in May 2015, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and three counts of obstruction of justice.

The obstruction charges were handed down in August 2015 when investigators found out Spann had persuaded one of his companions, Ladonah Hampton, to tell a federal grand jury that Spann never loaded or fired the gun, even though she initially told FBI agents that he “might” have. Spann later sent a text message to Hampton, asking for a copy of her grand jury testimony.

Hampton herself was also charged with obstruction of justice. Her case is still pending.

Spann faces up to 70 years in prison, prosecutors said. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 5.

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