Notorious gang leader arrested following traffic stop this weekend

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A notorious gang leader has been arrested following a routine traffic stop. It was a stop followed by a chase, and then a bit of hide and seek.

Police pulled over a car in the area of Burleigh and 36th Street on Saturday, October 5th. The 2013 gray Hyundai Elantra stopped, but the driver fled.

The driver, 37-year-old Akilah Crittenden is accused of running from police.

Akilah Crittenden

He is facing three charges, including being a felon in possession of a firearm, but on Milwaukee streets, investigators say Crittenden is known by the nickname "Kill" and prosecutors say he is the leader of the gang called "The Murda Mob."

In 2008, gang warfare involving The Murda Mob took the lives of four people. Police tape stretched across the area of 28th and Wright.

Investigators didn't call Crittenden a suspect in that crime, but did question him.

In a search warrant filed after last weekend's traffic stop, investigators say the 37-year-old set up "safe houses" to hide gang members.

Court documents show The Murda Mob was connected to homicides, drugs, hundreds of armed robberies and threats to kill police officers.

Crittenden's arrest began with a low-level offense. Police say they initially pulled Crittenden over because he wasn't wearing his seat belt.

Police caught up with Crittenden and say he tried hiding his loaded gun in a shelving unit at O'Reilly Auto Parts -- behind a bottle of motor oil.

If convicted on all the charges from the traffic stop, Crittenden faces more than 10 years in prison.