By Christina Santucci
Officials say a Queensbridge basketball star’s murder fueled gang warfare between residents of rival Manhattan housing developments.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance made the revelation about Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy as they announced the indictments of 103 suspected gang members following a 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, authorities said.
The sweeping investigation was conducted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit and the NYPD’s Gang Division, Vance and Bratton said at a news conference June 4.
Murphy, an 18-year-old Murry Bergtraum 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 Sept. 11, 2011.
Among those charged in the takedown were Murphy’s brother, Taylonn “Bam Bam” Murphy, 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 at least 19 non-fatal shootings, about 50 shooting incidents where bullets did not strike their targets and two homicides. The suspects ranged in age between 15 and 30.
“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 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.
