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48°
Tuesday, dec 17
Tag:
Gang Violence
News
Man On FBI's 'Most Wanted' List Captured In California 15 Years After NJ Robbery Tie-Up: Feds
A man who has been on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list for a 2009 armed robbery of a New Jersey restaurant has been captured in California. Kofi Edwards, 51, was arrested without incident in Sacramento, CA following a tip from the public, the FBI's Newark Central Jersey Safe Streets Task Force announced. FBI Newark had offered up to $10,000 leading to Edward’s arrest and will pay out the reward. On March 17, 2009, Edwards and several others allegedly went into a Woodbridge restaurant, using a weapon to rob the business and tie up three people. Edwards was charged with Hob…
Police & Fire
Paterson Pair Convicted In Ambush Killing Of Rival Gang Member From Newark
UPDATE: The mastermind behind the cold-blooded killing of a 21-year-old rival gang member from Newark during an ambush in Paterson was convicted of first-degree murder and one of his cronies of aggravated manslaughter on Friday. Jurors in Superior Court in Paterson needed only a day to reach guilty verdicts on Oct. 13 against Silk City residents Jaquan Thomas, 33, and Ismael Leon, 21, for gunning down Jose Figueroa. Authorities said the slaying was a “coordinated attack involving multiple shooters in multiple locations.” Thomas sent members of his gang to the area of Totowa and Redwood ave…
Police & Fire
Caught
: Fugitive Gang Member Wanted For Attempted Murder Nabbed By Mahwah PD
A fugitive member of the Crips who was wanted for attempted murder in New York City was nabbed by Mahwah police on Route 17, authorities said. Hakeem “Flow Cash” Jamison, 28, was a passenger in a 2005 Mercedes E500 driven by a Vermont woman who committed several motor vehicle violations before Officer John Lange stopped her on the northbound highway near the Route 287 flyover, Capt. Guido Bussinelli said. Sgt. Richard Albro quickly joined his colleague during the 10:15 a.m. stop on Monday, Aug. 28, the captain said. After getting conflicting stories from the driver, 44-year-old Jill Steel…
Police & Fire
3 Brick City Brims Get 100 Years Combined For Murdering Informant, Bystander, Rival Gangster
A trio of ruthless Essex County gang members who admitted gunning down a government informant after killing an innocent bystander they mistook for the snitch were sentenced to nearly 100 years combined in federal prison. There’s no parole in the federal prison system, which means the East Orange trio will all have to serve out their plea-bargained sentences: Thomas Zimmerman, 28, was sentenced to 37 years; Tyquan Daniels, 27, got 35 years; Ali Hill, 30, was sentenced to 25 years. That means Daniels and Zimmerman will both be pushing 65 when either tastes freedom again. Hill would be approa…
News
Gang Member Who Stabbed Leonia Woman Dead Gets 30-Year Plea Deal
UPDATE: A Paterson gang member pleaded guilty to stabbing his new girlfriend to death in the Leonia apartment that she shared with her young daughter. Murder pleas are rare in Bergen County, where deals are often cut for just about every other charge. Nile “OG Cripp” Diakos, 36, nonetheless got a deal from prosecutors in the March 26, 2022 stabbing death of Alicia Arnone, 35. In exchange for his guilty plea, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said his office will seek a 30-year prison sentence for Diakos. Diakos was at the apartment with Arnone’s 13-year-old daughter when Leonia polic…
News
‘War Ready’: Armed NJ Heroin Dealer Sentenced To 19 Years Without Parole
UPDATE: A New Jersey drug dealer who once served state prison time is headed to a federal penitentiary for a plea-bargained 19 years without parole. Jakir “Jak” Taylor, 32, was a key figure in an alliance of two violent rival gangs who once dominated the heroin trade on Trenton’s north and west side neighborhoods, authorities said. He's also the last of 26 defendants swept up in a joint law enforcement operation that smashed that operation. Taylor and conspirator Jerome Roberts collected heroin bricks by the hundreds from David “Papi” Antonio that were sold in individual bags, authorities …
News
Member Of Paterson '230 Boys' Admits Selling Heroin-Laced Fentanyl That Killed User
A reputed member of a notorious Paterson street gang admitted in federal court in Newark on Wednesday that he sold fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a user. 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 Geo…
News
7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded
An ongoing gang war that has ignited gunfire during a funeral and outside a hospital has led to charges against seven reputed members of a New Jersey gang associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods. Federal authorities used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law to secure a grand jury indictment charging the defendants with conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Tuesday, Sept. 20. All seven are members or associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, which operated under the umbrella of neighborhood street gangs known as “Parkside” in Somerset and “The Ville” in N…
News
Feds: Major NJ Drug Trio Admits Killing Informant, Innocent Bystander, Among Others
A trio of ruthless Essex County gang members admitted their roles in a major drug operation responsible for gunning down a government informant -- following the murder of an innocent bystander who was mistakenly believed to be the snitch. In exchange for their pleas, Tyquan Daniels and Thomas Zimmerman, 27, face a minimum of 33 years in federal prison each, while Ali Hill, 29, is looking at a minimum of 20 years. There's no parole in the federal prison system, which means Daniels and Zimmerman would be turning 60 when either tastes freedom again. Hill would be nearing 50. Federal prosecuto…
News
Suicide Bid By Gang Member Charged With Leonia Woman's Murder Locks Down Bergen County Jail
The Bergen County Jail was briefly locked down after a Paterson gang member charged with killing a Leonia woman tried to take his own life, responders said. Nile Diakos, 35, was taken in custody to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus after sheriff's officers stopped him from hanging himself around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, they said. Diakas was arrested on murder charges and jailed on March 30 for the stabbing death of Alicia Arnone in her Grand Avenue apartment several days earlier. Diakos was at the apartment with Arnone’s 13-year-old daughter when Leonia police responded to their 911 …
News
Murderous East Coast MS-13 Leader From NJ Sentenced In MD To Life
A Jersey Shore MS-13 overlord who ran the gang’s East Coast operation was sentenced in Maryland to life in federal prison on Friday, April 1 for a “reign of terror” across several states, the U.S. Justice Department announced. Miguel Angel “Reaper” Corea Diaz, 41, of Long Branch, NJ will have to serve out the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The capture of Corea Diaz was “one of the biggest takedowns of a high-ranking MS-13 leader in the United States," a district attorney in Nassau County said after he was indicted on Long Island in December 2018. Corea Dia…
News
Detectives: Leonia Woman's Killer Slipped Out, Then Circled Back When Daughter Woke
A Paterson gang member now charged with killing a Leonia woman in the garden apartment she shared with her daughter ran out when he heard the girl wake up, then circled back as if he was just arriving, investigators said. Nile Diakos, 35, was recorded on phone calls and in texts admitting that he killed Alicia Arnone by stabbing her in the neck and chest last Saturday, March 26, according to court papers. Authorities originally charged her former live-in boyfriend, Andrae Daniels of Lodi, with killing Arnone, 35. But new information emerged that led them to drop murder charges against him…
News
Murder
Shocker
: Ex-BF Cleared, Recent Lover Charged With Stabbing Leonia Woman To Death
UPDATE: A Paterson gang member now charged with killing a Leonia woman in the garden apartment she shared with her daughter ran out when he heard the girl wake up, then circled back as if he was just arriving, investigators said. Nile Diakos, 35, was recorded on phone calls and in texts admitting that he killed Alicia Arnone by stabbing her in the neck and chest last Saturday, March 26, according to court papers. Authorities originally charged her former live-in boyfriend, Andrae Daniels of Lodi, with killing Arnone, 35. But new information emerged that led them to drop murder charges aga…
News
US Marshal Justified In Killing Armed Fugitive In Paterson Wanted For Ex-GF's NYC Murder
A U.S. Marshal was justified in killing a fugitive ex-con who fired a shot at him and fellow officers in a Paterson apartment, a New Jersey grand jury has found. A loaded 9mm handgun was found near the body of Malik Canty after he was taken out by members of the U.S. Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force in a second-floor Hamilton Avenue apartment, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Canty, a 36-year-old Bloods gang member, was wanted by the NYPD for the brutal beating death of his sometimes-girlfriend on a Harlem street. Canty wasn’t in the front room…
News
Update
: Ex-BF Cleared, Gang Member Charged With Stabbing Leonia Woman To Death
UPDATE: A Paterson gang member now charged with killing a Leonia woman in the garden apartment she shared with her daughter ran out when he heard the girl wake up, then circled back as if he was just arriving, investigators said. Nile Diakos, 35, was recorded on phone calls and in texts admitting that he killed Alicia Arnone by stabbing her in the neck and chest last Saturday, March 26, according to court papers. Authorities originally charged her former live-in boyfriend, Andrae Daniels of Lodi, with killing Arnone, 35. But new information emerged that led them to drop murder charges aga…
News
MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes
Three ranking MS-13 members from El Salvador were convicted by federal jurors in Newark of the murder of an innocent 19-year-old dishwasher from West New York, among other charges stemming from their participation in the international gang. It was one of many offenses that jurors agreed were committed by Juan Pablo “Humilde” Escalante-Melgar, 31, Elmer “Locote” Cruz-Diaz, 33, and Oscar “Snappy” Sanchez-Aguilar, 25 – among them, extortion, witness tampering, and drug trafficking. Federal prosecutors told the jurors that Escalante-Melgar and Sanchez-Aguilar instructed an MS-13 member and an …
News
PD: Female Dealer Busted Slinging Ecstacy On Notorious Paterson Corner
Paterson detectives nabbed a woman who they said was selling Ecstasy at one of the city's most notorious corners. The investigators watched Shantay Pittman, 35, sling MDMA at the corner of Broadway and East 18th Street before arresting her, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. They stopped Pittman and found her carrying six bags and 43 vials of the drug, he said. The corner has been the scene of several shootings in recent years as rival gangs battle over the drug trade. Police have also reported violent robberies and prostitution arrests there, as well. Pittman, of East 19th …
News
FBI Makes Arrest In Jersey City Gang War
An ongoing gang war in Jersey City led to the arrest by federal authorities of a man accused in one shooting and implicated in another. Shamar Bey, 29, a reputed member of the SaLaf gang, opened fire at a gas station at Gates Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard after following a rival from Ocean and Neptune avenues on June 19, 2020, an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. A city surveillance camera helped identify him, the FBI said. Less than 24 hours after that shooting, three people entered the Salem-Lafayette housing project -- where SaLaf operates -- and shot into a cr…
News
Indictment: Latin Kingpin,10 Gang Members In NJ Prison ‘Hit Squad’ Targeted State Investigators
UPDATE: Members of a state prison “hit squad” who were already charged with beating a fellow inmate also attacked others while targeting investigators who got wise to them, an indictment returned by a New Jersey grand jury alleges. State prosecutors earlier this year charged Frank “Lafay” Blake, 33, of Hillside and eight inmates with an assault at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, as well as with plans to carry out another at Northern State Prison in Newark. An indictment returned in Trenton this week adds new assault charges against Blake -- the reputed leader of the Elizabeth chapter of…
News
Killer
Heroin
: 15 Members, Associates Of Violent 42-50 Paterson Drug Gang Indicted
Fifteen reputed members and associates of a violent gang that put 50,000 doses of lethal heroin and over two pounds of crack a week on the streets of Paterson were indicted by a state grand jury on Wednesday. The leaders, members and associates of the 42-50 subset of the Crips were slinging heroin connected to eight overdose deaths and 14 nonfatal ODs at open-air drug markets where shootings were common, state Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. The indictment returned Wednesday in Trenton names 15 defendants, including reputed ringleader Marvin Goodman, 30, who was wounded in a drive-by…
News
Dealer Caught With More Than 28 Pounds Of Coke Worth $720,500 In Passaic, Authorities Charge
A Paterson man was busted with more than 28 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $720,500 during a fugitive roundup, authorities announced Thursday. Tydel Clark, 31, was arrested following a warranted search of a Passaic city residence and his vehicle, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and U.S. Marshal for the District of New Jersey Juan Mattos Jr. said. The news came amid a joint announcement by both of an operation that they said produced 133 arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. Authorities targeted active warrants and fugitive cases, most of them in Paterson, Valdes …
News
Feds Charge Reputed Jersey City Gang Member With Gunning Down Rival
Federal authorities have charged a reputed gang member from Jersey City with murder in the shooting death of a rival during a running feud between allied crews. Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced Tuesday that her office has taken over the prosecution of Phillip Wiggins Jr. of Newark for the March 31, 2020 slaying of Damone “Munch” Smith. Wiggins, 24, who investigators say belongs to the Wilkinson Avenue gang, shot Smith in the chest near the corner of Rose and Cator avenues. Smith, 25, was brought by private vehicle to Jersey City Medical Center, where he …
News
Passaic Sheriff's Officers Thwart Escape Attempt By Reputed Gang Member
A member of a violent gang blamed for flooding the streets with lethal heroin escaped from custody but was captured by Passaic County sheriff's officers, authorities said. It was shortly before 7:30 a.m. when reputed Crips member Andre White, 44, made a break for it while being treated for an undisclosed injury at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said. White was in custody awaiting trial following a major takedown by city and state authorities last fall of leaders, members and associates of the "42-50" subset of the Crips street gang in Paterson. The crew is…
News
NJ: State Prison ‘Hit Squad’ Run By Latin King Targeted Inmates, Corrections Investigators
Members of a state prison hit squad assembled by a Latin Kings leader beat one fellow inmate and were about to attack another when corrections officials got wind of their plans, New Jersey's top law enforcement officer said Thursday. Working from the outside, Frank “Lafay” Blake, 33, of Hillside recruited eight inmates for his shank-armed crew at various correctional facilities, including Northern State Prison in Newark and New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Blake, the reputed leader of the Elizabeth chapter of the Almighty Latin King and Queen…
News
Elmwood Park Boy, 16, Carrying Loaded Gun Chased Down By Paterson Detectives
A 16-year-old Elmwood Park boy was carrying a loaded gun when he ran from detectives in one of Paterson’s most notorious drug neighborhoods, authorities said. Just last Sunday, two 20-year-old men were shot near the corner of Summer Street and Godwin Avenue, in a neighborhood where rival gangs have long battled over a robust drug market. Detectives John Traynor and Mustafa Dombayci had pulled up to the corner around 10 p.m. Friday when the teen, seeing them, tried to hide in an alley doorway, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. When they told him to step out, the boy ran through a …
News
Another Member Of Paterson's Notorious '230 Boys' Sent To Fed Pen For Dealing Heroin, Fentanyl
UPDATE: An ex-con who was captured by Paterson detectives became the latest member of the city’s notorious “230 Boys” gang to land in federal prison for slinging dope tied to dozens of overdose deaths. Cequan “Cee Cee” Wharton, 27, was sentenced to plea-bargained term of five years and three months, nearly all of which he must serve because there’s no parole in the federal prison system, for selling deadly fentanyl. He joins several other members of the violent street gang who were sent federal penitentiaries following an all-out law enforcement offensive on the streets of the Silk City and…
News
Update
: Paterson Man, 19, Shot In Head Critical
A 19-year-old man was in critical condition after he was shot in the head in Paterson, responders said. The victim, a Paterson resident, was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center after the shooting at the corner of Garfield Avenue and Jefferson Street shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, they said. CPR was reportedly in progress as police blocked off intersections on the 2-mile route to the hospital. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora confirmed the shooting but didn't say whether any suspects were arrested or identified. It cont…
News
'230 Boys' Members From Paterson Sent To Federal Prison For Dealing Heroin, Fentanyl
An all-out law enforcement offensive produced more federal prison sentences Monday against members of a violent gang from Paterson who admitted slinging deadly fentanyl and heroin on the streets of the Silk City. 230 Boys members Dwayne “D Black” Northern, 35, and Isaiah Hargrove, 21, must serve just about all of their plea-bargained sentences because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Northern got four years and three months, followed by three years of supervised release, during a video-conferenced sentencing by U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark. Hargrove, 21…
Police & Fire
Killer
Heroin
: Paterson Mills Raided, Gang Members Busted, 21,000 Heroin Folds, $110G Seized
A dozen members of a violent gang that put 50,000 doses of lethal heroin and over two pounds of crack a week on the streets of Paterson were arrested by city and state authorities in a major takedown, authorities said Thursday. The leaders, members and associates of the "42-50" subset were slinging heroin connected to eight overdose deaths and 14 nonfatal ODs at open-air drug markets where shootings were common before last week’s roundup, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Among them was accused ringleader Marvin Goodman, 29, who was wounded in a drive-by shooting at the corner o…
News
Two Charged In Cold-Blooded Executions Of Jersey City Rival, Pregnant Woman, Associate
Two members of the Jersey City Bloods are charged in the cold-blooded killings of a rival, his pregnant girlfriend and an associate who accompanied them on the murder mission, federal authorities announced Monday. Markell “Sayboy” Brown, 32, and Terence “Sweet Meat” Shaw, 32, used fellow street gang member Quadel Chisolm to gain access to the Fulton Street apartment of Ishear Bailey and his girlfriend, Janaya Lee, on Jan. 16, 2017, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark charges. Brown and Shaw executed Bailey, 26, shooting him in the back of the head, the le…
Police & Fire
Major Dealer In Violent Trenton Drug Crew Headed To Fed Pen For Plea-Bargained 13 Years
A confessed member of a violent "war ready" Trenton drug-dealing crew must spend more than 13 years in federal prison for his role in a massive heroin trafficking operation. Omar “Stacks” Council, 41, is the latest of 23 defendants to take guilty pleas in exchange for leniency when he admitted participating in a trafficking network that flooded the streets of the state capital with heroin and other drugs amid shootouts with rival gang members Council -- also known as "Snow" and "Y-O" -- must serve out the entire 160-month plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal pris…
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