A longtime gang leader who is accused of using a charity organization as a front to run a criminal enterprise in South Los Angeles may be linked to a brutal murder, authorities said.
Federal prosecutors said there’s probable cause to believe Eugene “Big U” Henley, Jr. killed a man named Rayshawn Williams in Las Vegas and dragged his body in the desert.
Williams, according to court papers, was an artist for Henley’s label “Uneek Music. After Williams wrote a song to “diss” Henley, the gang leader kidnapped and murdered Williams in retaliation, prosecutors said.
Before Williams was a rapper, he was a wide receiver for the Crenshaw High School football team. The day after he was killed, the football program announced his death on Instagram saying in part “he was a special guy to all of us.”
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Not only did Williams play for Crenshaw, he was teammates with Big-U’s son Daiyan Henley, who is now a linebacker with the LA Chargers. In 2023 the LA Times wrote a story about Daiyan.
NBC Los Angeles attempted to reach out to Daiyan Henley for comment but did not hear back.
Eugene Henley, Jr. will remain in federal custody until at least his detention hearing at the end of the month.
If convicted, he could get a life sentence.
