Bloods gang member Lawrence Lewis sentenced to life for murder of Crips gang member John Birt at Deer Park club, prosecutors say

A Bloods gang member was sentenced Wednesday to life plus 22 years in prison for fatally shooting a rival Crips gang member at a Deer Park gentlemen’s club in 2017, as well as rape, sex trafficking, drug, weapons and witness intimidation charges, prosecutors said.

Lawrence Lewis, 38, of Calverton, was convicted following a jury trial of murder in the fatal shooting of John Birt on July 29, 2017, at the Illusions Gentlemen’s Club, prosecutors said.

“A mandatory life sentence is a fitting punishment for Lewis, a gang member who committed murder, rape, sex trafficking, and pushed drugs in our community,” said United States Attorney Breon Peace, in a statement. “Through his allegiance to the Bloods, the defendant caused considerable harm to others, and that decision has now permanently cost him his freedom. I commend our prosecutors, and federal and local law enforcement partners for their collaborative work that has made Suffolk County safer as a result of the arrest and prosecution of this violent criminal.”

Lewis’ defense attorney, Peter Brill, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Lewis, who is also known by the street name of L Boggs, and another alleged Bloods gang member approached Birt, who was posing for pictures inside the club, and got into a dispute after Lewis’ associate attempted to display a Bloods hand signal.

The men began arguing and Lewis fatally shot Birt in the abdomen. According to prosecutors, Lewis texted others later that he was "sleeping good" and would "do it again."

Between April 2004 and June 2019, Lewis sold cocaine base and heroin in Suffolk County and had several firearms — including an AR-15 assault rifle, a pistol-grip 12-gauge shotgun, a Mossberg .22-caliber rifle and a Ruger .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol — in order to protect his drug supply, prosecutors alleged at trial.

Prosecutors also said that in 2014, Lewis forced a woman into prostitution until she repaid a debt to him after his guns were stolen.

Lewis was convicted by a federal jury in Central Islip in 2021 following a four-week trial. 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.