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17 Brooklyn Youths Charged With 14 Shootings, 4 Murders in Gang Takedown: DA

Seventeen young Brooklyn men — alleged members of three violent street gangs known collectively as YPF — have been charged in relation to 14 recent shootings that left four people dead, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and NYPD Commissioner K
NYPD cars. Photo: Wikimedia.

Seventeen young Brooklyn men — alleged members of three violent street gangs known collectively as YPF — have been charged in relation to 14 recent shootings that left four people dead, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell announced Tuesday.

The youth were variously charged with conspiracy to commit murder, possess weapons and related charges in two separate indictments that were the result of a long-term investigation, Gonzalez said.

According to the investigation, three Brooklyn street gangs formed an alliance to create “a large umbrella group,” known as YPF, to increase their numbers and territory and hunt down common enemies to maintain dominance. The alliance also increased the gangs’ access to handguns and ability to travel safely to their allies’ neighborhoods, according to the investigation.

The three gangs that made up the alliance were FNO (Fort N**** Only or Fear No One), which operates around the Ingersoll Houses and surrounding areas of Fort Greene; PPP (Pistol Packing Pitkin) which operates around Fiorentino Plaza and surrounding areas of East New York; and YAWAH (Young and Wild and Hustling) which operates around the Langston Hughes, Van Dyke and Seth Low Houses in Brownsville.

Together, the YPF members committed 14 shootings that injured nine innocent victims and left four dead during the course of the investigation, Gonzalez said.

The shootings included one in October 2020, when alleged FNO members Iquan Warlick and Nakhai Addison allegedly shot and killed 18-year-old college freshman Sherard McKoy in an East New York bodega just for standing with a rival gang member.

Another shooting investigated occurred in November 2020, when George Risher Jr., Iquan Warlick and at least two others allegedly went to a 16th birthday party in East New York where they knew enemies would be.

A member of the group allegedly shot at a group near the venue, striking someone in the leg, then the group chased a group of perceived rivals around the corner where Risher allegedly fired at them, causing property damage.

A short time later, Warlick, Risher and two others went to an address in Crown Heights where the party had relocated and allegedly fired multiple shots at partygoers there, striking and injuring seven innocent victims and killing innocent victim, Daijyonna Long, 20, who was visiting from Virginia.

Another shooting investigated occurred in September, 2020 at the Metrotech Mall in Downtown Brooklyn, where alleged FNO member Giovanni Bennett allegedly fired multiple shots at a former FNO member who now belongs to a rival gang, Berg Fam. An innocent New York University student was shot in the arm.

Gonzalez said a “particularly troubling aspect” of the case was that many of the defendants were teenagers, including one defendant charged in connection with all three murders that he allegedly committed when he was 16.

“We must engage with our young people and help to keep them on the right path,” Gonzalez said as he announced the indictment. “They must learn that there is another way to live beyond the gang life and be given the tools and services to help them succeed.”

He added that he was committed to both aggressively prosecuting shooters and partnering with community-based groups that work with our youth to prevent future violence. The defendants will be arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Craig Walker on two indictments in which they are variously charged with first-, second- and fourth-degree conspiracy, second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, second- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and first-degree reckless endangerment.




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