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US Attorney Damian Williams unsealed four-count superseding information charging Chappaqua resident Deejay Williams, age 45, on several offenses following his guilty plea in July 2021.
Specifically, White admitted to:
- Offenses relating to his participation in a May 29, 2019 gunpoint robbery in the Bronx targeting more than 150 kilograms of cocaine;
- His participation in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband - including narcotics and a firearm - into the Metropolitan Correctional Center;
- His possession of that firearm while incarcerated.
Deejay White’s wife, Dawantiana White, age 38, of Brooklyn, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to provide prison contraband, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and perjury.
Williams said that in late May 2019, a Bronx-based member of a Puerto Rico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) was expecting a delivery of furniture that was packed with 176 kilograms of concealed cocaine.
Deejay White and other co-conspirators learned of the shipment and planned a violent robbery of the cocaine.
Prosecutors said that on May 29, 2019, White parked outside the Bronx apartment where the organization’s cocaine was being kept, and he and four others forced their way into the apartment and held up 10 victims, including four children, at gunpoint.
During the robbery, two victims were pistol-whipped, Williams said, and a third sustained serious injuries after jumping out of the apartment’s third-story window in an attempt to flee.
One of the co-conspirators threw a duffel bag filled with the cocaine to Deejay White, who drove off with the drugs.
White was arrested on Nov. 25, 2019, following an investigation into the stolen cocaine, and he was held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan pending his processing.
Days after entering the facility, prosecutors said that White began using contraband cellphones to conspire with others - including his wife - to commit additional crimes, including having Dawantiana White smuggle drugs into the Metropolitan Correctional Facility, which she did multiple times.
Prosecutors said that in January 2020, the two conspired to have a gun smuggled into the facility White was being detained, which they successfully did.
In February 2020, Bureau of Prisons officials discovered a contraband cellphone in White’s cell, and he was transferred to a special housing unit. While there in isolation, White proceeded to lie to investigators about smuggling the gun into the facility, which led to an extensive lockdown as they searched for the weapon and other contraband.
The loaded gun was ultimately located inside a wall of White’s cell, officials said.
Deejay White pleaded guilty to:
- Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery;
- Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
- Being a felon in possession of a firearm;
- Conspiracy to receive contraband in prison.
Dawantiana White pleaded guilty to:
- Narcotics conspiracy;
- Prison contraband conspiracy;
- Obstruction of justice;
- Two counts of wire fraud;
- Perjury.
“Deejay White was responsible for a dangerous gunpoint robbery of more than one hundred kilograms of cocaine that left several victims injured,” Williams said in a statement. "Even after he was arrested and in jail, facing up to a life sentence on those charges, Deejay White continued to commit crimes.
“Deejay White and his wife, Dawntiana White, placed inmates, staff, and court personnel in grave danger by smuggling drugs and a firearm into a federal detention facility.,” he added.
“Individuals who are tempted to defy law and order should be on notice that we will continue working to identify and put an end to their alarming conduct and to hold them accountable.”
Deejay White is set to be sentenced on Tuesday, May 17. Dawantiana White’s sentencing date is Tuesday, June 14.
If convicted, Deejay White could face life in prison. Dawantiana faces up to 20 years in prison.
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