( KTRS ) A man suspected East St. Louis gang leader has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for multiple drug and weapons offenses.

James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for Southern Illinois, reports that 40-year-old Ayiko Paulette of Cahokia, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics, running a drug house, possessing firearms as a felon and interstate racketeering.

Authorities recovered weapons including several assault rifles at a house in East St. Louis that had been the scene of a gang shootout in March 2013. Investigators say Paulette was a leader of the Waverly Crips gang until 2014. They say that while he was in jail, he directed associates to intimidate a witness.