Fourteen Brooklyn residents– one as young as 15– on Wednesday were indicted with murder charges and other violent acts committed in Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island in 2021 and 2022.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch on Wednesday said 14 alleged members of the 59 Brims/Bloodhound Brims street gang were variously charged in a 129-count indictment with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, weapons possession and related charges.
In addition to the murder of a rival gang member, the defendants are variously charged in connection with 19 shooting incidents that left nine people injured – including four innocent bystanders, according to a press release and a midday press conference.
"Gun violence hit a record low last year because of strategic enforcement and gang takedowns like today’s, which removed 14 alleged shooters responsible for a staggering level of violence in Coney Island and Sheepshead Bay," Gonzalez said. "We cannot normalize this kind of behavior."
The charges were brought onto 14 alleged members of the 59 Brims and Bloodhound Brims street gangs, two sets of affiliated Bloods based primarily in Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island. The investigation centered on a series of violent incidents, including a homicide and numerous non-fatal shootings in the 61st, 60th, 67th, 73rd, and 69th Precincts beginning in February 2021.
Gonzalez said the two-year investigation stemmed from the murder of Bloodhound Brim member Devonte Lewis, 17, on April 29, 2021, as he was leaving Urban Dove Charter School, a high school in Midwood.
It is alleged that the 59 Brims/Bloodhound Brims defendants signaled their intent to murder opposition gang members through music videos, recorded jail conversations, cellphone evidence, and Facebook and Instagram posts. Text messages among the defendants allegedly indicates their intent to not just intimidate their rivals but to murder or seriously wound them. One such text message conversation following a May 29, 2022 shooting that resulted in no injuries criticized the shooters for failing to place the intended victims in “critical condition” like they were supposed to.
Rival gangs to the defendants include Folk Nation, FNO, WOOO, and GWAY, a subset of the Gorilla Stone Bloods, according to the investigation. While the rivalry between the defendants’ gangs and Folk has been longstanding, it intensified after the death of Lewis, officials said.
The 14 Brooklyn residents were identified as: Davonte Manson, 23; Karon Evans, 21; Timothy Briggs, 22; Antoine Favorite, 20; Jaquell Scales, 21; Omogoriola Omotosho, 21; Omarion Harvey, 21; Logan Cadore, 20; Jordan Thomas, 30; Jermel Solise, 18; Tashawn Ware, 19; Ron Thomas, 22; Rashiem Brown, 16, of Brooklyn; Albiero Garcia, 15.
“Today’s takedown highlights the NYPD’s relentless fight against dangerous street gangs that terrorize our neighborhoods with gun violence," Tisch said. "These criminals showed zero regard for human life."
Tisch called several of the defendants as "shooting recidivists." Eight of the defendants have fired a gun in at least two incidents, and four defendents have fired a gun in three or more shootings, Tisch said.
"Why? Because there's a dangerous narrative out there that this type of criminality has no consequences in New York City," Tisch said. "That narrative needs to be rewritten."
Tisch defended the existence and use of the Criminal Group Database, which allows police officers to input and track city gang members. Critics of the database say individuals are placed in the database without their knowledge and with insufficient evidence.
Tisch said she is against a City Council bill that would abolish this database.
"Any person who cares about the safety of our streets and our neighborhoods should be outraged," she said. "Supporters of that legislation simply don't understand what the database is or how its used."
