By Naeisha Rose
FAR ROCKAWAY — A Far Rockaway teenager who claims he is no longer a member of the Bloods gang was arrested last week and charged with robbery, assault and criminal possession of stolen property, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said.
The 16-year-old, who admitted he was formerly a gang member of the Bloods 1090, claimed he is innocent and simply a bystander when the March 23rd theft occurred, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Queens DA.
The teen said he had left the gang under pressure from his mother and had nothing to do with the assault of a fellow teenager.
“We were leaving school when the others decided to rob the kid,” he said. “I didn’t punch the kid. I gave up being a 1090 for my mom.”
Officers who investigated the case said the suspect might be a student at Hillcrest High School in Jamaica.
The victim, who is from Arverne, told police officers that he was walking toward a bus stop close to the Catholic church, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, located at 88-19 Parsons Blvd. in Jamaica, and recognized the defendant, as well as several other unapprehended suspects from a prior incident.
He said he was chased by the defendant and the other suspects, punched in the stomach and the face, and then had his iPhone snatched from his hand.
The Arverne teen went on to tell the police that the defendant and the other suspects “caused him annoyance, alarm and substantial pain.”
The former Bloods member was ordered to return to court on May 16.
— Naiesha Rose
