FLINT, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A Canton man has pleaded guilty to carving a local gang's name into a 15-year-old boy's chest.
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that 37-year-old Doniel Antoine Heard of Canton pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and admitted being the leader of a Michigan branch of the notorious Bloods street gang.
Announcing the charges back in June, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said the attack happened in Flint during a dispute over the teenager's marijuana business.
Prosecutors said Heard and three other gang members beat and robbed the teen in November 2017, believing he'd "disrespected" other gang members.
Heard then sat on the boy and used a large knife to carve "M.O.B. 662" into his chest as two women held the teen down. M.O.B. stands for "Members of Bloods" with the 662 representing M.O.B. on a telephone keypad.
Schneider said such attacks are used for members to gain a better standing within the gang. While he said the teen's physically injuries were healing, Schneider questioned: "Emotionally, how do you ever recover from something like this?"
Michigan Department of Corrections records show Heard has an extensive criminal record daring back to 2003, having served prison time for narcotics, theft and other crimes in Oakland and Genesee counties.
He faces up to 20 years in prison when he's sentenced March 4.