Riverhead Gang Member Sentenced For Murder In 'Heartless Shooting'

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead gang member was sentenced Monday to 27 years in prison for his participation in the murder of a man who was not the rival he was intending to shoot, federal officials said.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Jason Langhorn, also known as "Hov," 40, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Central Islip.

Langhorn, an associate of the “Red Stone Gorilla” subset of the Bloods, a violent criminal gang based in Riverhead, was sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert for his participation in the murder of Thomas Lacolla on November 17, 2015, which occurred while Langhorn and others were attempting to kill a rival of the gang, federal officials said.

Langhorn pleaded guilty to firearms-related murder in August, 2021, federal officials said.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the eastern district of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, assistant director-in-charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York field office announced the sentence.

“Langhorn has been held accountable for his role in a heartless shooting that claimed the life of an unintended victim,” Peace said. “We hope today’s sentence brings a measure of solace and closure to the victim’s family and sends a clear message that those who commit brutal acts of gang violence will be brought to justice and punished.”

According to the indictment and court filings, the defendant helped members of the Bloods as they tried to kill a rival gang member, which resulted in the shooting death of Lacolla. In an attempt to carry out a standing order by the leader of the gang to kill the rival, Langhorn accompanied several fellow Bloods members to a location in Riverside, just outside of Riverhead, officials said. There, Langhorn and two others fired more than 39 shots, collectively, into a vehicle they believed was occupied by their intended target, but instead was occupied by Lacolla, who was shot and killed instantly, officials said.