17 East Bar Operator Gets Life in Prison

The operator of a Clinton Street bar, shut down by the City last year for gang and drug activity, is going to federal prison for the rest of his life. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas McAvoy handed down the sentence to 39 year old Calvin Johnson. Johnson operated the 17 East bar and was associated with the gang: the MacBallers, which is a subset of the Bloods gang. He is just one of 14 defendants charged with drug trafficking, assault, weapons offenses and other counts. Johnson pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, conspiracy and felony possession of a firearm. The City initiated the Lockdown Law against the bar that served as a gang headquarters and following numerous reports of shootings, stabbings and the dealing of large amounts of heroin, crack cocaine, cocaine and marijuana over six years in the region.