Co-founder of ruthless gang back in federal custody after getting shot
CLEVELAND — A founding member of one of Cleveland’s most ruthless and widespread street gangs is back in federal custody after a police detective found video on Instagram of him firing guns at a Parma gun range.
Donte Ferguson, one of the founding members of the Heartless Felons, is charged with possessing three handguns despite a lengthy felony record that bars him from touching a gun. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Investigators focused on Ferguson as part of an on-going investigation into the Heartless Felons, and its many subsects that have been involved in several recent murders, robberies and shootings, along with drug dealing and money laundering.
Authorities arrested Ferguson, known on the street as Iceberg Ferg, after someone shot him on May 19 in Cleveland.
He’s also charged with burglary in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. He’s accused of kicking in the door to someone’s home while trying to find help after he was shots. Ferguson’s arraignment in that case is scheduled for June 27.
Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys have sparred over whether or not a judge should order him to remain in federal custody or be released pending the outcome of the case.
Ferguson helped found the Heartless Felons, which grew out of two gangs in Ohio’s juvenile prison system. In the early 2000s, Ferguson’s gang— The Land of The Heartless— merged with the Young Felons, then led by Antonio Peterson.
The merging of the gangs allowed the group to grow into one of the largest prison gangs in Ohio.
Violence spilled onto Cleveland streets when members were released from prison. The gang remains a powerful force in Cleveland. In recent years, Heartless Felons have been convicted of extortion, threatening witnesses, running drugs in the Cuyahoga County Jail while bribing jail guards, murders, rapes and robberies, among other crimes.
Ferguson has a history of criminal convictions, including for armed robbery as a juvenile, being part of the gang and for threatening a police gang detective in 2014. He served three years in federal prison for possessing guns with a felony record and threatening the detective.
After his release from prison in 2017, he worked at a nightclub and launched his own business rehabbing and selling houses. Ferguson also spends time with young kids in Cleveland and talks to them about the dangers of gang life, his attorneys said.
The most recent case against Ferguson began after a police gang detective working with an FBI gang task force investigating the Heartless Felons found Ferguson’s Instagram account in September.
His account “chief_and_ commander” listed his name as “1208 Goat/president.” Investigators wrote in court filings that 1208 stands for the Land of the Heartless gang and
Goat, for Greatest of All-time.
Investigators found a live Instagram video he posted on March 4, 2021 where Ferguson fired off about 100 bullets from three guns at the Parma Armory. Two of the guns were rented but one belonged to a woman, who accompanied him to the gun range.
Ferguson initially signed into the facility under his real name and information but lied when he was required to sign into the gun range.
Ferguson on May 19 told police he was meeting a Realtor about buying a home. He told officers that the shooter “must have superpowers” because he “popped up out of nowhere” and fired at least six times, hitting Ferguson in the left ankle, right hip and lower back.
Ferguson ran down the street to another home, kicked in the door and collapsed inside.
U.S. District Magistrate Judge Carmen Henderson initially ordered Ferguson released on a $20,000 bond, but U.S. District Judge Pamela Barker halted his release. She will hold a separate hearing on Ferguson’s detention, but a date has not yet been set.