Paterson Bloods Street Gang Arrests for Drugs & FIrearm Offenses

Paterson Bloods Street Gang Arrests for Drugs & FIrearm Offenses

LawFuel.com – Law News Daily
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Aaron
T. Ford, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Newark Field Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (“FBI”), William Fraher, the Acting Chief of Police of the Paterson Police
Department, and Gary F. Giardina, the Chief of Police of the Clifton Police Department, today
announced the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging 28 members and associates of the
Bloods street gang operating in Passaic County, New Jersey, principally in the city of Paterson,
with distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, “crack” cocaine, and powder
cocaine. The indictment also charges three of the defendants with brandishing firearms in
furtherance of drug trafficking activity, and with being felons unlawfully in possession of
firearms.
Of the 28 defendants named in the Superseding Indictment, nine were taken into custody
in a weekend sweep. Those nine defendants were presented in Manhattan federal court this
afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman and detained. Five other defendants are
presently detained in state custody on unrelated charges, and will be writted into federal custody.
One defendant, HAKIM LOWERY, remains at large. The other 13 defendants were arrested on
earlier occasions on the underlying indictments, and all remain detained.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Once again we see the convergence of
drugs, guns and violence that plagues neighborhoods, threatens their inhabitants, and spreads
potentially lethal narcotics from city to city and across state lines. To keep our neighborhoods
free of illegal drugs and gang violence, we will continue to work closely with our local law
enforcement partners to vigorously enforce federal drug and firearms laws.”
FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Aaron T. Ford said: “Dismantling violent gangs is a
continuing priority for the FBI. Our efforts to address gang violence are not new, but we are
working with our partners with increased manpower and increased urgency to address current
circumstances. Today’s arrests and charges are the result of a successful, long term investigation
conducted by the FBI, and the Paterson and Clifton Police Departments.”
Paterson Police Department Acting Chief William Fraher said: “It is critically important
for cities like Paterson to leverage their existing collaborative relationships with federal and local
law enforcement to reduce not only the actual violence in our communities, but also reducing the
perception of fear which can be just as important.”
Clifton Police Department Chief Gary F. Giardina said: “Problems faced by law
enforcement do not stop at the city borders. What is one city’s problem most likely is the next
city’s and at times overlaps into the next state. It is for these reasons that it is imperative that
agencies work in partnership to be successful. In this case Clifton Police worked in partnership
with the Paterson Police and FBI in order to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan
federal court:
Various “sets” of the Bloods, particularly the Fruit Town Brims and Sex Money Murder,
among others, operated in Paterson, often coordinating, collaborating, and working together
(defined in the Indictment as the “Paterson Bloods”). Ranking members of the Paterson Bloods
would often meet to resolve disputes between their respective “soldier” members of the sets, and
could direct punishment against non-members. Among these punishments were that individuals
were to be assaulted or killed by members of the Paterson Bloods.
The Paterson Bloods operated the drug markets in certain central locations in Paterson,
New Jersey, including, in particular: North Main Street from East Main Street to Jefferson Street
(an area known as “The Main”); Graham Avenue/Rosa Parks Boulevard from Lyon Street to
Franklin Street (“The Boulevard”); Graham Avenue/Rosa Parks Boulevard from 12th Avenue to
Hamilton Avenue; 12th Avenue from East 22nd Street to East 24th Street; 10th Avenue from
East 26th Street to East 30th Street; Governor Street from Graham Avenue to Summer Street
(“Up the Hill”); and Park Avenue from Madison Avenue to East 16th Street. Members of the
Paterson Bloods were permitted to sell heroin and “crack” cocaine in these areas. Generally,
non-members, outsiders, and rival narcotics dealers were prohibited or prevented from
distributing narcotics in areas controlled by the Paterson Bloods. Certain individuals – such as
people who had grown up in areas controlled by the Paterson Bloods, people of neutral gang or
neighborhood group affiliation, or marijuana dealers who often sold to members of the Paterson
Bloods – were permitted to distribute narcotics in areas controlled by the Paterson Bloods, but
did so without the protection of the members of the Paterson Bloods, and at the risk of being
robbed by members of the gang. For example, on June 17, 2013, a drug dispute broke out in the
area of 12th Avenue and 22nd Street, during which the defendant RACHAUN PARKER, a
member of the Fruit Town Brims set of the Bloods, assisted an individual who was considered a
“neutral” from his neighborhood. Members of the Fruit Town Brims, including defendants
HAKIM LOWERY and JAMAR EDWARDS, violently beat PARKER for violating the rules of
the set.
Members of the Paterson Bloods and their associates committed and conspired,
attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence to protect and expand their drug trafficking
operations, and to protect fellow members of the gang. These acts included beatings, stabbings,
and shootings intended to prevent people not affiliated with the Paterson Bloods from
distributing narcotics in areas controlled by the gang, or to dissuade members of rival gangs,
such as the Latin Kings, from encroaching on territory controlled by the Paterson Bloods.
Members of the charged narcotics-distribution conspiracy agreed to possess and
distribute heroin, “crack” cocaine, and cocaine powder in the Bronx, Manhattan, and New
Jersey. On at least two occasions, certain defendants, armed with loaded guns, delivered what
they believed to be approximately one kilogram of cocaine to an address in the Bronx in return
for delivery fees.
* * *
Charts identifying the defendants, the charges, and the maximum penalties they face, as
well as their ages and residences, are attached to this release. The case is assigned to U.S.
District Judge Laura Taylor Swain. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed
by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the
defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI, the Paterson Police Department,
and the Clifton Police Department. The investigation is a result of the Department of Justice’s
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force program, and it combined the resources and
expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with local law enforcement.
The Office’s Violent Crimes Unit is overseeing the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Justina L. Geraci and Michael D. Maimin are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Carolina A. Fornos is in charge of the asset forfeiture components of the case.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the
defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
14-053 ###
U.S. v. Brandon Fields et al., S3 Indictment
COUNT CHARGE DEFENDANTS CHARGED MAX PENALTY1
1 Conspiracy to distribute and
possess with the intent to
distribute narcotics (heroin,
“crack” cocaine, powder cocaine)
All 28 Defendants Maximum sentence
of life in prison;
mandatory minimum
term of 10 years in
prison
2 Attempted possession with intent
to distribute narcotics (cocaine)
BRANDON FIELDS
LARRY GREEN
Maximum sentence
of 40 years in prison;
mandatory minimum
term of five years in
prison
3 Brandishing a firearm in relation
to a drug trafficking crime
BRANDON FIELDS
LARRY GREEN
Maximum sentence
of life in prison;
mandatory minimum
consecutive term of
seven years in prison
4 Attempted possession with intent
to distribute narcotics (cocaine)
BRANDON FIELDS
LARRY GREEN
RAHEEM STEWART
Maximum sentence
of 40 years in prison;
mandatory minimum
term of five years in
prison.
5 Second/Subsequent Brandishing a
firearm in relation to a drug
trafficking crime
BRANDON FIELDS
LARRY GREEN
RAHEEM STEWART
Maximum sentence
of life in prison;
mandatory minimum
term of 25 years in
prison
6 Felon in possession of a firearm BRANDON FIELDS 10 years in prison
7 Felon in possession of a firearm LARRY GREEN 10 years in prison
8 Felon in possession of a firearm BRANDON FIELDS 10 years in prison
9 Felon in possession of a firearm LARRY GREEN 10 years in prison
10 Felon in possession of a firearm RAHEEM STEWART 10 years in prison
1 The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational
purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
DEFENDANT AGE RESIDENCY
BRANDON FIELDS 27 Paterson, NJ
HAKIM LOWERY 35 Paterson, NJ
LARRY GREEN 29 Paterson, NJ
DEWAYNE STRATFORD 39 Incarcerated (Federal)
EUGENE GREEN 38 Incarcerated (Federal)
BURCHANTI SCOTT 34 Incarcerated – NJ Dep’t of
Corrections
JAMAR EDWARDS 30 Paterson, NJ
JAQUAN WALKER 29 Incarcerated – NJ Dep’t of
Corrections
RASHIN LINDSEY 33 Incarcerated (Federal)
DERRON RANDOLPH 23 Paterson, NJ
ABDUL MOORE 32 Incarcerated (Federal)
HERBERT ODOM 36 Incarcerated (Federal)
ALSHAQUEN NERO 28 Paterson, NJ
BURNELL SCOTT 35 Incarcerated (Federal)
MYRON WILBERLY 46 Incarcerated – Passaic County
Jail
RACHAUN PARKER 31 Paterson, NJ
TYSHAWN COX 38 Incarcerated (Federal)
DONTRELL BRIGGS 28 Paterson, NJ
RAHEEM STEWART 27 Paterson, NJ
RAHJOHN LEARY 20 Paterson, NJ
ALTERRELL WILLIAMS 28 Incarcerated – Passaic County
Jail
RASHON EDWARDS 28 Incarcerated (Federal)
SABRINA MCNEAL 38 Incarcerated (Federal)
WESLEY FRAME 43 Incarcerated (Federal)
DESHAWN STEWART 31 Incarcerated – Passaic County
Jail
JAMAR MASON 24 Incarcerated (Federal)
LINCOLN RIVAS PENA 29 Incarcerated (Federal)
ANTHONY ROSARIO GARCIA 30 Incarcerated (Federal)

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