By Christina Santucci
City officials announced the indictments of 103 suspected gang members in a sweeping investigation into gang warfare that authorities say was fueled in part by the murder of Queensbridge basketball star Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy.
The 4-1/2-year probe focused on feuding between the “3 Staccs” street gang and their rivals, the “Money Avenue” gang and “Make it Happen Boys,” of the Manhattanville and Grant Houses, a authorities said. It was conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit and the NYPD’s Gang Division, the Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Wednesday. The suspects ranged in age between 15 and 30 years old.
Murphy, an 18-year-old Murry Bergrtraum basketball standout, had moved with her family from Queens to the Grant Houses several years before she was gunned down inside the Manhattan housing development on Sept. 11, 2011.
Among those charged in the takedown were Murphy’s brother, Taylonn “Bam Bam” Murphy, who is allegedly a member of the 3 Staccs, and Naquan “Tubz” Brockington, whose older brother Tyshawn Brockington, a suspected member of the Make it Happen Boys, was convicted along with Robert Cartagena in Tayshana Murphy’s murder, the DA said.
Authorities said the indictments of 16 different gangs included charges of least 19 non-fatal shootings, about 50 shooting incidents where bullets did not strike their targets and two homicides.
“To build a case this extensive, prosecutors and investigators analyzed more than 40,000 calls from correctional facilities, screened hundreds of hours of surveillance video and reviewed more than a million social media pages,” Vance said.
In the indictments of suspected Money Avenue and Make It Happen members, authorities said the alleged gang members bragged about the killing of Tayshana Murphy.
Ty-Kwan “Ty” Allen allegedly posted on Facebook, “I like my chicken deep fried,” about the slaying on Sept. 14, 2011, according to the indictments.
One suspected gang member, Davon Goulbourne, allegedly taunted rival Brian Cabrera with a message about Murphy’s killing, to which Cabrera allegedly replied, “NOW IMAAA KILL YUHH,” according to the indictment.
Members of 3 Staccs wanted revenge, authorities said.
In the indictments of the suspected 3 Staccs members, authorities said part of the group’s motivation for violence was to avenge Tayshana Murphy’s death.
Kareem “Reem” Hendricks allegedly said he would attack members of the rival gang in retaliation, but may not have been able to “get to them” because they were in “protective custody,” the court documents said.
