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Authorities didn't identify the victim who they said died after ingesting drugs sold by Wyzier Peterson, 25.
Peterson was among 17 reputed 230 Boys members charged in a coordinated heroin, fentanyl and cocaine trafficking case assembled in September 2019 by a strike force comprised of agents from the DEA, ATF and state, county and local law enforcement.
One of them, Keith Brinkley, shot a Belleville man in Paterson and then fled to Georgia, where he was later captured, federal authorities said.
SEE: Federal Heroin Fugitive From Paterson Captured In Georgia, Charged With Shooting Belleville Man
A reputed leader of the gang, Shakeem “230 Starter” Ricks – who'd served time for a shooting that took the life of a popular 14-year-old city girl -- was shot and killed in May 2020
SEE: Reputed Gang Leader Convicted Of Ordering Hit On Paterson Girl, 14, Shot Dead
The 230 Boys members and associates, all Paterson residents, were involved in selling heroin that investigators tied to more than 60 fatal overdoses in New Jersey in less than one year.
The gang derives its name from a central location: a liquor store located at 230 Rosa Parks Blvd.
The gang has operated primarily along Godwin Avenue, between Rosa Parks Boulevard and East 18th Street, and in the vicinity of the 12th Avenue basketball courts, federal authorities said.
Members sell heroin in bricks and bundles that is frequently mixed with fentanyl, a potent, synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin -- and, as a result, potentially fatal – investigators said.
230 Boys are "often involved in ongoing feuds with other local gangs, including the '4K Korner Boys,' a street gang [that] operates primarily on Rosa Parks Boulevard between Keen and Lyon streets, and the Glock Boys, a street gang [that] operates primarily on the north side of Paterson and is often referred to by 230 Boys as 'down the hill'," the complaint sworn by the ATF says.
Rather than risk the consequences of a trial, Peterson admitted during a videoconferenced Nov. 16 plea hearing that he sold the heroin and fentanyl that killed a user in June 2019.
U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti scheduled sentencing for March 29, 2023. Peterson will continue to remain in federal custody until then.
The drug trafficking case was assembled by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), whose mission is “to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Jersey State Police, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office and Paterson police for their work on the case.
He also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and the Belleville and Livingston police departments.
Securing the plea for the government was Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori, of the OCDETF/Narcotics Unit.
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