A federal grand jury in Brooklyn indicted three Maryland men for their alleged roles in the kidnapping, robbery and fatal shooting of a marijuana dealer in Bayside in July.
Two of the defendants, Jerome Waters, 23, known on the street as “the Engineer,” and Calvin Israel, 23, were arrested in Baltimore on Wednesday and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date. William Barnett, 27, remains at large.
As alleged in court filings, the three defendants are members of a Baltimore-based violent robbery crew that conspired to commit an armed robbery and kidnapping of marijuana dealers in Queens. On the night of July 24 and into July 25, the trio drove from Baltimore to Queens to kidnap and rob at gunpoint drug dealer Julian Mejias and a second unnamed dealer.
Once in New York, Waters and Barnett met with the two dealers at a stash house in Queens under the guise of purchasing marijuana. Moments later, Waters and Barnett pulled out handguns and held up the dealers. Next they invited their co-conspirators into the stash house to assist in the robbery and kidnapping. Both dealers were placed in zip ties and forced into the back of a Jeep and a U-Haul truck at gunpoint while the defendants stole approximately 30 pounds of marijuana from the stash house.
The trio drove the dealers, who were still tied up, through Queens at gunpoint, demanding drugs and money. Israel drove the U-Haul containing Mejias who was shot to death multiple times in the head. When his body was found by first responders in the van on 208th Street near 32nd Drive in Bayside, the dealer still had a zip tie binding one of his hands and his body was surrounded by bags of marijuana. Following the fatal shooting, the trio fled back to Maryland.
“As alleged, the defendants’ premeditated robbery and kidnapping that resulted in a violent death, demonstrates the significant threat of guns and drugs in our community,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “This Office continues to work nonstop with our law enforcement partners to hold these drivers of violent crime accountable and remove their means to wreak havoc.”
If convicted, Waters, Israel and Barnett each face mandatory sentences of life imprisonment.
“These arrests are another example of police and their federal partners’ unrelenting pursuit of crews that monetize drugs and brutality,” NYPD Interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon said. “I commend our NYPD investigators and all our law enforcement colleagues for their unwavering commitment to end such barbaric, senseless violence in our communities and for their tireless work to hold all those responsible for it accountable.”
