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Bronx resident Dwight Reid, age 52, and Brooklyn resident Christopher Erskine, age 41, were both sentenced to 35 years in prison for their leadership of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Bloods Gang, a violent street and prison organization that has operated in Westchester County, other parts of New York State, and across the country, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
Reid, the gang’s founder and prison leader, and Erskine, its second-highest-ranking street leader, were convicted of racketeering and narcotics offenses following a three-week trial, officials said. Their sentences are among the harshest imposed as part of an extensive investigation that has resulted in the convictions of all 21 defendants charged in the case.
Gorilla Stone, founded over 20 years ago, is known for its violent acts and organized operations, including narcotics trafficking and fraud schemes.
In Westchester, Gorilla Stone’s acts of violence include a July 2020 drive-by shooting in New Rochelle and a June 2020 gunpoint robbery in Peekskill, authorities said.
Other acts of violence involving the gang include:
- A September 2020 Dutchess County murder of a teenager in Poughkeepsie;
- Multiple gang-related shootings in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Miami;
- A fraudulent unemployment benefits scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The gang, organized into sets or “Caves,” enforces its internal laws through violence and generates revenue through narcotics trafficking and sophisticated fraud operations, prosecutors said.
Reid and Erskine’s sentences follow those of 18 other convicted gang members, who received penalties ranging from three years to over 19 years in prison.
In a statement following the sentencings, US Attorney Damian Williams said the duo were "responsible for terrible violent acts and trafficking dangerous narcotics across the country and state, including throughout the New York State prison system."
"Reid and Erskine’s convictions and lengthy sentences, as well as our successful prosecution of many of the gang’s most senior and violent members, send an important message to gang leaders that they will be convicted and sentenced to significant terms in prison," Williams added.
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