Broward gang leader sentenced to 90 months for gun, drug offenses
Key Points(5)
- A convicted felon identified by federal prosecutors as a leader of the Eastside Gangsta Bloods has been sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for illegal firearm possession and conspiring to smuggle synthetic drugs into jail.
- Michael Ridley, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced by U.S.
- District Judge Melissa Damian after pleading guilty to possessing firearms as a convicted felon, attempting to possess contraband in prison and conspiring to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, the U.S.
- Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.
- According to court records, Ridley posted a social media video on June 12, 2025, showing him with two handguns at a shooting range.
A convicted felon identified by federal prosecutors as a leader of the Eastside Gangsta Bloods has been sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for illegal firearm possession and conspiring to smuggle synthetic drugs into jail.
Michael Ridley, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian after pleading guilty to possessing firearms as a convicted felon, attempting to possess contraband in prison and conspiring to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.
According to court records, Ridley posted a social media video on June 12, 2025, showing him with two handguns at a shooting range. The video included the notation “TTB (Train to Bag),” which prosecutors said referred to a homicide victim’s body being placed in a bag and removed from a crime scene.
Law enforcement subsequently obtained a criminal complaint charging Ridley with unlawfully possessing the firearms. He was arrested on July 23, 2025, and found with a firearm that had previously been reported stolen and an attached extended magazine.
Following his arrest, Ridley was detained pending trial and held at two federal detention facilities in Broward County.
Prosecutors said Ridley, whom they identified as a leader of the Eastside Gangsta Bloods, which operates as part of the United Blood Nation, conspired with outside accomplices, including other gang members, to smuggle narcotics into the jail.
The drugs were allegedly concealed in legal mail using a method known as “paper dope,” which involves saturating ordinary sheets of paper with liquid synthetic drugs.
During sentencing, the government presented evidence that Ridley possessed more than a dozen firearms and held a leadership position within the gang.
“This seven-and-a-half-year federal prison sentence reflects a simple reality: gang leaders who possess illegal guns and continue directing criminal activity from behind bars will be held accountable,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said.
The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the sentence on Oct. 6.
