Source: Jeremy Hogan / Getty
Prosecutors and police shared details on a sweeping gang conspiracy indictment unveiled on Thursday (May 6), leading to 18 members of a Brooklyn gang being charged.
Gothamist reports that 18 young men allegedly involved in a string of shootings, including a drive-by that left 1-year-old Davell Gardner dead at a cookout last summer, were charged. According to the NYPD, the takedown focused on the Hoolie street gang, comprised of fewer than 100 men whose territory is around Roosevelt Houses in Bed-Stuy. Among the 18 arrested was Dashawn Austin, accused of firing the fatal bullet that killed Gardner.
Per Gothamist:
According to the indictment, Austin, 25, and other Hoolie members, including Akeem Artis, traveled in a three-car caravan to carry out the shooting as part of an ongoing turf war, through at least September 2020, against the rival 900 Gang. That feud is believed to date back to a 2018 shooting by members of 900, which wounded Artis and killed another Hoolie member.
The chain of retaliatory violence has resulted in four murders and eight non-fatal shootings involving nine victims, prosecutors allege. Just six of the 13 total victims were believed to be members of a rival street gang.
During a press conference on Thursday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, “This is the type of gun violence that has made people fearful to leave their homes,” while breaking down the 63-count indictment that was the product of a two-part investigation that saw 19 other members of the 900 gang arrested.
At the time of Gardner’s death, community leaders called for more action from Mayor Bill de Blasio to combat gun violence steadily rising both nation and city-wide. Since the fatal incident, it continues to rise in the city.
Gonzalez praised the NYPD’s investigative work saying it was a product of surveillance footage, forensics, social media, and recorded telephone calls. Of those who the NYPD arrested, ten of them are between the ages 19 and 33-years-old and have been charged with second-degree murder and face up to 25 years to life in prison.
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Photo: Jeremy Hogan / Getty
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