Dutchess County resident Dimetri Moseley, age 28, of Poughkeepsie, a member of the "Uptown" gang, was sentenced on Wednesday, Dec. 14, said Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Moseley was sentenced to 25 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute heroin in connection with the 2016 murder of Caval Haylett and the distribution of heroin, said the US. Attorney's Office.
He had previously pled guilty to participation in racketeering and narcotics distribution conspiracies and had admitted that he was one of two shooters involved in Haylett’s murder, officials said.
Moseley was one of 31 members and associates of two rival street gangs who were charged in two separate cases with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms offenses, court documents show.
All 31 of those defendants, who were members and associates of two gangs referred to as “Uptown,” and “Downtown,” have now pled guilty to federal charges and have been sentenced, Williams said.
“This case demonstrates our commitment to dismantling violent gangs who threaten our New York neighborhoods through drug trafficking and the guns and physical violence that often accompanies it," Williams added.
According to the allegations in the charging documents and statements made in court filings and during court proceedings:
The FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and the Dutchess County Special Narcotics Unit conducted a joint investigation into the gang war between Uptown and Downtown, which led to multiple fatal and non-fatal shootings between 2012 and 2017 in the City of Poughkeepsie.
Uptown -- based in eastern Poughkeepsie -- gang members and associates control the narcotics trade within the Bricks, distributing heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana, primarily. Uptown gang members stored shared guns in various locations known to gang members to protect the narcotics business, to protect each other from rival gangs, and to strike against rival gangs.
The murder of Caval Haylett, an innocent bystander, and local high school basketball star, was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head at the age of 18 while attending a barbeque in the vicinity of Winnikee Avenue and Harrison Street in March 2016.
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