Over 25 alleged gang members indicted in Queens
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By Jacob Kaye
Over two dozen people were indicted on charges related to participating in an ongoing gang war in Western Queens, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday.
In all, 28 people from or associated with either the Queensbridge or Ravenswood Houses in Astoria and Long Island City were named in the 141-count indictment made public on Aug. 5.
Charges range from murder and attempted murder to criminal possession of a weapon, according to the complaint. All of the alleged gang members named in the indictment were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
“If you are committing havoc on our streets and putting the public in harm's way, we are going to find you and we are going to prosecute you,” Katz said. “Block by block, as long it takes, we will not allow gun violence and gangs to become the norm in our community.”
The defendants, who range from ages 18 to 35, allegedly engaged in an ongoing feud in the hopes of gaining more territory within their respective public housing communities, according to the DA.
The feud often resulted in shootouts between rival gangs and retaliatory shootings following those, the charges say.
“Cases like this are not about casting a large net,” Katz said. “It’s about focusing on people who are the most dangerous and cause violence in our community.”
The indictment centers on the fatal shooting of George Rosa, a 53-year-old teacher who was hit by a stray bullet when he was walking his dog near Queensbridge on July 25, 2020.
Defendants Ike Ford, 18, and Delante Aiken, 19, both face charges related to Rosa’s killing, according to the indictment.
The investigation into the gangs – Jet Blue and Makk Ballers in Queensbridge and Money the Motivation/Obligated to Money of Ravenswood – lasted nearly two years, according to law enforcement.
“I’ve been doing these cases for a while and this is one of the best cases I've ever seen,” said James Essig, the NYPD’s chief of detectives. “One gang shooting begets another gang shooting…that’s why it’s so important to take these gangs out across the city.”
The earliest alleged act of gun violence began on May 18, 2019, when two of the defendants fired at another defendant on 10th street and 40th Avenue, according to Katz.
The two alleged shooters then ran into the Queensbridge Houses and went up to the roof, where police later recovered a loaded gun.
On July 3, 2019, two other defendants who are believed to be members of the Makk Ballers gang, were spotted on surveillance video firing guns toward several members of the Jet Blue gang, Katz said.
Three days later, there was an alleged retaliatory shooting in the courtyard of the Queensbridge Houses and one of the stray bullets went through a resident’s window and landed on their kitchen counter.
A majority of the defendants named in the indictment are currently in custody, Katz said. Ten of the 28 were in custody prior to the indictment, 11 were arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 4, and the remaining seven are at large, according to prosecutors.
Despite a rise in shooting incidents citywide in the past year, the 114th Precinct, which covers both Queensbridge and Ravenswood Houses, has seen a small decline in shootings in 2021.
This year, there have been 13 shooting incidents in the 114th. At this time in 2020, there had been 14, according to NYPD data.
However, Katz said that the gun violence perpetrated by alleged gang members has become “more brazen.”
On Saturday, 10 people were injured in a mass shooting in Corona, which prosecutors say is believed to be related to gun violence.
Law enforcement offered few details on the open investigation into Saturday’s shooting on Thursday.
“The detectives in the 115th are working tirelessly and relentlessly and made some progress,” Essig said. “That investigation continues.”
All 28 of the defendants named in the indictment face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
