Senior United States District Judge John Gerrard reached a decision Friday sentencing Orion J. Ross of Lincoln to 30 years in federal prison for actions he took that helped bring about the murder of Lincoln Police Department Officer Mario Herrera.
Judge Gerrard specifically found that Ross told his accomplice, Felipe Vazquez, where to get a stolen firearm that was stashed in the bedroom where the two were barricaded together. LPD officers issued repeated commands for Vazquez to surrender and exit the bedroom peacefully, but instead, Vazquez cocked the firearm Ross made available to him. Ross then shattered the window of the bedroom in an action intended to distract officers so that Vazquez could escape through the window while firing the weapon. Vazquez shot Officer Herrera during his escape with the stolen handgun that Ross made available to him.
Judge Gerrard found these actions were part of ongoing conspiracies between Ross, Vazquez, and other members of the ‘No Name Demons’ gang to possess firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence and drug trafficking. As a result, Judge Gerrard sentenced Ross to 30 years in federal prison for what the Court called a “senseless and brutal murder.” The Court further described its familiarity with the No Name Demons gang overall as a gang that espoused “extreme violence,” a “code of silence,” and the Court noted that there were many other victims of this gang’s violent acts. Ross is subject to 6 years of supervised release following the 30-year term of imprisonment.
Ross was charged in his indictment with eleven other members of the No Name Demons gang. Many of those defendants were previously sentenced by Judge Gerrard to include:
- Isaiah James Dorsey, sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for his role in a gang rape and for firearms conspiracy in furtherance of crimes of violence.
- Krysean Reynolds, sentenced to 200 months in federal prison for his role in a gang rape and for firearms conspiracy in furtherance of crimes of violence.
- Lorenzo Anderson, sentenced to 102 months in federal prison for firearms conspiracy.
- Yuko Gusko, sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for firearms conspiracy.
- Rice Hill, sentenced to 88 months in federal prison for firearms conspiracy.
- Kyce Davis, sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for firearms conspiracy.
- Kallam Yiel, sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for firearms conspiracy.
- Bryan Castillo, sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for firearms conspiracy.
Three other defendants have yet to be sentenced. Tang Lian is the next defendant set to be sentenced in the case on July 19, 2023, at 10:30 a.m.
Following the sentencing today, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said, “As a member of a violent gang, Orion Ross terrorized Lincoln neighborhoods; ultimately leading to the death of one of our own. Ross may not have pulled the trigger, but his actions make him just as responsible for the killing of Officer Mario Herrera. While no sentence will bring Officer Herrera back or end his family’s pain, the FBI, and our federal, local, and state partners in the Lincoln Safe Streets Gang Task Force, hope they can take some comfort in the fact this violent gang has been dismantled and its members are behind bars. “
This case was primarily investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lincoln Police Department with operational assistance from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol.