Tyreese Giles, 25, known within the Highs gang as “Reese,” was sentenced to life in prison on April 23, 2026, after a jury found him guilty of RICO conspiracy for his role in a gang-related retaliatory murder on the streets of Minneapolis. Ernest Ketter, 30, known as “Shakedown,” was sentenced six days later on April 29 to 95 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after a separate jury convicted him of conspiring to distribute fentanyl as a high-level supplier to the same gang.
Both men are from Minneapolis and both were part of a federal prosecution that has charged more than 40 members and associates of the Highs, a violent street gang that controlled territory north of West Broadway Avenue and had been locked in a years-long war with their rivals, the Lows, who operated south of the same dividing line. The case involved murders, narcotics trafficking, weapons violations, burglaries, assaults, and robberies, with fentanyl as the gang’s primary drug commodity and Arizona as the source of its pill supply.
The Highs and Lows Divided Minneapolis Along West Broadway and Fought a Multi-Year Gang War
The Highs operated as a criminal enterprise in the north side of Minneapolis, with members organized into cliques and expected to retaliate against the Lows when provoked. The rivalry between the two gangs produced a documented pattern of shootings and murders over several years. Federal prosecutors described a gang structure in which membership required participation in violence and drug trafficking on behalf of the enterprise, with fentanyl supply lines running from Arizona to Minneapolis streets. Members and associates coordinated trips to Arizona to obtain tens of thousands of fentanyl pills, which were then distributed through the gang’s network on the north side of the city.
The broader federal case against the Highs began with an indictment of 45 gang members and associates in May 2023, followed by a superseding indictment in November 2023 that added 14 more defendants including Ketter. Giles was among the original defendants. The DOJ announcement of the sentencings described the Highs as an organization that armed itself and hunted down suspected rivals while openly selling fentanyl on the streets of Minneapolis.
Giles Dressed in Black and Masked, Drove to Rival Territory and Shot a Man in the Back at Pennwood Market
On September 9, 2021, a prominent Highs member was shot and killed at a barbershop in Minneapolis. The gang concluded that the Lows were responsible. Within roughly two hours of the killing, Giles and others drove into Lows territory to retaliate. Surveillance footage captured what followed. Dressed in black and wearing a mask over his face, Giles approached the open Pennwood Market, where he located a Lows member. He opened fire. As the victim tried to flee the store, Giles shot him in the back. The victim died outside.
Giles was convicted in May 2025 after a jury trial at which the surveillance footage and other evidence was presented. He was 22 years old when he was first indicted in 2023 and 25 at sentencing. The life sentence handed down on April 23, 2026 reflects both the RICO conspiracy conviction, which carries the sentence of any predicate act included within it, and the federal government’s treatment of gang-related murders committed in furtherance of a criminal enterprise.
A Machine Gun, 30 Grams of Fentanyl, and Text Messages Proving 20 Kilograms Already Distributed
Ernest Ketter’s role in the Highs was not as a shooter but as a supplier. Evidence at his trial showed he was a high-level source of fentanyl pills for the gang’s street-level distribution network. In October 2022, law enforcement searched Ketter’s residence and found illegal firearms, including a machine gun, drug distribution paraphernalia, and approximately 30 grams of fentanyl in both pill and powder form. The firearms and drugs alone would have supported trafficking charges, but the more significant evidence came from text messages recovered during the investigation.
Those messages showed that members of the Highs owed Ketter money for 20 kilograms of drugs he had already supplied. Twenty kilograms of fentanyl represents a quantity capable of producing hundreds of thousands of lethal doses. At a street pill level, that volume would represent millions of dollars in transactions. Ketter was convicted in June 2025 of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and sentenced on April 29, 2026 to 95 months, approximately eight years, in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
A Multi-Agency Investigation Spanning Years Led to Over 40 Defendants Charged Across Multiple Trials
The investigation behind these sentences involved an unusually broad coalition of federal, state, and local agencies: the ATF, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Department of Corrections, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the U.S. Marshals Service, DEA, and Homeland Security Investigations. The IRS’s involvement reflected the financial investigative dimension of dismantling a criminal enterprise, following money flows to identify high-level suppliers like Ketter.
Giles and Ketter are among several Highs defendants sentenced in this prosecution. A separate trial in May 2025 resulted in convictions for five additional Highs members, including defendants tied to separate shootings and additional narcotics trafficking. The Lows gang has also been separately charged with federal RICO and other crimes arising from the same territorial conflict.
Conclusion
The sentencing of Giles and Ketter closes two significant chapters in a federal prosecution that has systematically dismantled the leadership and supply chain of one of Minneapolis’s most violent street gangs. Giles will spend the rest of his life in prison for a retaliatory murder he committed at 19, caught on surveillance two hours after a gang killing triggered his response. Ketter supplied the fentanyl that fueled the gang’s street operations and will spend eight years in federal custody before supervised release. With more than 40 defendants charged across multiple trials, the Highs prosecution represents one of the most comprehensive RICO gang cases brought in the District of Minnesota.
