Two Brooklyn men were arrested by federal agents on Tuesday morning and criminally charged with murder for a fatal drive-by shooting in Glendale in 2021.
An indictment was unsealed in the Brooklyn federal courthouse charging Joible Perez, 25, and Rafael Hernandez, 30, with multiple crimes relating to the Feb. 26, 2021, murder of 25-year-old Akil Kornegay over a drug debt dispute at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Myrtle Avenue.
As alleged in court filings, Perez and Hernandez operated a lucrative drug trafficking operation, distributing marijuana out of the Taylor Street-Wythe Avenue Housing Development in South Williamsburg. A dispute over a drug debt arose between the defendants and Kornegay, who was their customer. Text messages sent by Hernandez to Kornegay reflect demands for payment, or “bread,” and accused Kornegay of “ducking” the defendants and “playing kid games.”
As the dispute escalated, Kornegay robbed the defendants of drugs, money and other items. In retaliation for that robbery, in the early morning hours of Feb. 26, 2021, the defendants stalked Kornegay, following him as he drove a silver Chevy Malibu through Glendale. Perez and Hernandez pulled up alongside Kornegay at 12:45 a.m. when he was stopped at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard and fired multiple times into his vehicle. Kornegay sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and attempted to drive away from the gunfire, but slammed his car into a streetlamp. EMS rushed him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“As alleged, the defendants chose to escalate a drug dispute to a deadly act of retaliation,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said. “Such flagrant violence in our communities will not be tolerated, and I commend the FBI Special Agents, NYPD detectives, and our prosecutors for their resolve and hard work resulting in today’s arrest. Our Office is committed to preventing the loss of life to drug and gun crimes.”
Perez and Hernandez were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Seth Eichenholtz on Feb. 17. If convicted of narcotics conspiracy, possessing, brandishing and discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and causing Kornegay’s death through the use of a firearm, the defendants face a maximum term of life in prison.
“Rafael Hernandez and Joibel Perez allegedly murdered a customer of the drug trafficking operation over a debt dispute,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle said. “Their drug distribution and retaliatory violence endangered nearby residents. Working alongside our law enforcement partners, the FBI remains dedicated to crushing violent crime by dismantling criminal enterprises and holding those who terrorize our communities accountable.”
