Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and the NYPD have announced the indictment of 11 alleged members after a three-and-a-half-year investigation, entitled ‘Operation: Deadliest Catch,’ into gang violence in Southeast Queens.
The alleged members are from the ‘Whole Blocc Boys’ (WBB) and ‘Score On Anything’ (SOA) – two subsets of the ‘8 Trey Movin Crips’ street gang. The defendants are variously charged with conspiracy, attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment, and gun possession in connection with nine shooting incidents dating back between March 2021 and December 2022.
Five victims have been identified as part of the investigation, one of whom is paralyzed from the waist down.
“We allege that the main goal of this violence is a turf war between these gangs and rival gangs such as Folk Nation, Money World, Mac Ballers, and Dream Team. Out of the eleven defendants that we are charging with these indictments, ten are shooters. Five of those shooters are being charged with multiple shootings in this indictment,” stated Katz.
Five defendants were apprehended and arraigned Tuesday on a 57-count indictment charging them variously with conspiracy in the first degree, attempted murder in the second degree, attempted assault in the first degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Bruna DiBiase remanded the defendants and ordered them to return to court in December and January. If convicted of the top count, three defendants face a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, and two of the defendants face a possible maximum of life in prison.
One co-defendant was arrested Tuesday while bedside at a hospital due to an unrelated incident. His arraignment is pending. Three co-defendants are currently in custody on other matters and will be arraigned at a later date. Two additional co-defendants remain at large.
An additional defendant was separately charged as part of the investigation and subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the second degree, assault in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on July 25, 2024.
“Eleven guns were seized as part of the investigation. This is a really interesting part of the investigation. Four of the guns are community guns. These are communities’ worst nightmare. These guns travel around a community through gangs and are used for whatever the gang deems necessary during that time,” added Katz.
“They’re taken out like they’re library books. They’re used on the street to terrorize communities. The first shooting was on March 29, 2022, and that’s when this investigation started. The indictment is a culmination of three-and-a-half years using comprehensive intelligence gathering, including victim injuries and ballistics, social media posts, recorded jail calls, and surveillance video footage.”
The surveillance footage showed that on May 22, 2021, at approximately 8:30 p.m., SOA members were walking in the vicinity of Sutphin Blvd. and 112th St. when a Hyundai Accent turned onto 112th St. and parked. An occupant, a member of the rival ‘Dream Team,’ exited the vehicle and fired several shots in the direction of the SOA members, causing them to flee.
Minutes later, surveillance footage showed an SOA member walking toward the vehicle and firing several times at the Hyundai as it drove away. The car hit several other vehicles stopped at a stop sign on 148th St. and eventually rammed into a parked car at the corner of Linden Blvd., causing all occupants to flee the location on foot.
The investigation later determined that the May incident was an act of retaliation for an earlier altercation that took place inside Roy Wilkins Park, where SOA members committed a gun-point robbery of members of the ‘Dream Team.’
“Today, we are proud to announce that our beautiful Queens is a bit safer. This takedown is of violent gang members, the worst of the absolute worst bad guys in all of Queens, but they really rival the worst of the worst in the entire city. They are now in custody,” said Assistant Chief Jason Savino.
“Those that woke up every day with one mission: to gain clout for the gang, to ignite violence for the gang, and they did this by shooting oppositions of the gang. This gang actually encouraged fear by recklessly firing bullets and endangering locals.”
Savino described the gang as among the most ‘ruthless, reckless and relentless’ that the City has ever seen.
“They have brutally and recklessly shot up a grandmother’s home with her children and grandchildren sleeping inside. They have also fired shots in the proximity of a busy boardwalk right along the Rockaway shore while so many were just enjoying the ocean,” he added.
The joint investigation was conducted by the Queens County District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, along with Detectives Joseph Essig and John McHugh of the New York Police Department’s Gun Violence Suppression Division, under the supervision of Sergeant Jeffrey Liu, Lieutenant Jonathan Zocchia, Captain Ryan Gillis, and Inspector Craig Edelman, Commanding Officer of the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division.
Also, in conjunction with the Detective Squads of the 103rd, 105th, and 113th Precincts under the respective supervision of Lieutenant Stephen Faber, Lieutenant Christopher Kehoe, and Lieutenant Sean Finnegan, and under the overall supervision of Savino and Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
The eleven individuals charged during the investigation are as follows:
Trevor Bailey, a.k.a “T3”, 29, of St. Albans, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the first degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Bailey faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. He remains at large.
Shawn Cole, a.k.a. “TS,” 18, of St. Albans, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the second degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Cole faces a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He remains at large.
Isaiah Garcia, 24, of Yonkers, a.k.a. “Yachty,” a.k.a. “Double 07,” has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the first degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Garcia faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. He was ordered to return to court on Jan. 7, 2025.
Amir Haris, a.k.a. “Mir EBK,” 22, of Jamaica, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the second degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Haris faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years. He was ordered to return to court on Jan. 2, 2025.
Seth Johnson, a.k.a. “Savv G,” 20, of Jamaica, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the second degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Johnson faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years. He was ordered to return to court on December 20, 2024.
Raynaldo Lynch, a.k.a. “AG,” 23, of Queens, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the first degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Lynch faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. He is currently in Massachusetts State custody and will be extradited at a later date.
Tajh Parker-John, a.k.a. “Skeevey Loc,” 23, of Cambria Heights, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the first degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Parker-John faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. He is currently in New York State Corrections custody and will be arraigned at a later date.
Isaiah Raymond, a.k.a. “Zay,” 20, of Queens Village, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the second degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Raymond faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years. He was ordered to return to court Jan. 2, 2025.
Tavion Scott, 22, a.k.a. “Santa,” of Queen Village, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the first degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Scott faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. He is currently in New York State Corrections custody and will be arraigned at a later date.
Hiswan Simmons, a.k.a. “Codac,” a.k.a. “Hazz Loc,” 22, of Arverne, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the first degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Simmons faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. He is currently hospitalized for an unrelated incident and is pending arraignment.
Alphati Tanis, 33, of Jamaica, a.k.a. “Havoc,” has been indicted on charges of conspiracy in the first degree and other crimes. If convicted of the top count, Tanis faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. He was ordered to return to court on Jan. 2, 2025.
