COLUMBUS – Thursday’s murder conviction of Johnathan Holt, of Columbus, has brought to a close a dark chapter of the city’s history and marks the end of the reign of a bloodthirsty street gang that terrorized a North Side neighborhood for a quarter of a century, leaving the bodies of at least 20 murder victims in its wake.
Holt, 24, was the last of 20 members of the Short North Posse indicted in 2014 and 2015 to have his case heard. He rejected a plea deal of 30 years, was convicted on all counts and now faces up to life in prison, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman.
The charges against Holt included murder in aid of racketeering and murder through the use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
He was among the members of the gang indicted in October 2014 in a racketeering case with charges that include murders, attempted murders, drug trafficking, weapons offenses, extortion and robbery, Glassman said.
Prosecutors and law-enforcement battled more than 100 members of the drug and robbery gang, starting in the late 1980’s.
Most of the defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted. One was killed by police while resisting arrest. Another died of cancer awaiting trial, according to a report in The Columbus Dispatch.