Reginald R. Gross, known as Reggie Gross, was born on April 4, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland. He pursued a career in professional boxing, competing from 1982 to 1988. Gross achieved notable victories, including a first-round knockout of future IBF Light-Heavyweight champion "Prince" Charles Williams, and technical knockouts over undefeated fighters Smokin' Bert Cooper and Jimmy Clark. Despite his success in the ring, Gross's career was marked by losses to prominent boxers like Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno, and Donovan Ruddock. His final fight occurred in June 1988, where he lost to Ruddock. Following his boxing career, Gross became involved with a drug gang in Baltimore, serving as an enforcer. His association with criminal activities led to his arrest and subsequent conviction for multiple murders.

In the mid-1980s, Reggie Gross became entangled in Baltimore's drug underworld, aligning himself with a gang that controlled narcotics distribution in two public housing projects. As an enforcer for the gang, Gross was implicated in the contract killings of three individuals. One notable incident involved the execution-style murder of Andre Coxson, a rival drug dealer. In September 1986, Gross approached Coxson on Fayette Street in West Baltimore, shot him once, and then stood over him, firing five additional bullets into his head as Coxson pleaded for his life.

Gross was arrested in the fall of 1986 and charged with first-degree murder. In 1989, he pleaded guilty in federal court to the drug-related contract slayings of three men, admitting to his role as a hired killer for the gang. He received three life sentences, with two to be served consecutively.

While incarcerated, Gross has participated in rehabilitation programs and earned various certificates. He petitioned for parole in 2014 and again in 2019, arguing for eligibility based on the timing of his crimes relative to sentencing reforms. However, the courts upheld that he must serve thirty years for each of his two consecutive life sentences before being eligible for parole. As of 2023, Gross remains imprisoned at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, with a projected release date of November 1, 2048.