Leaders Of Gang-Run Newark Drug Ring Plead Guilty: Prosecutors

NEWARK, NJ — A leader and a key member of an alleged Latin Kings-affiliated drug ring in Newark have pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the operation, prosecutors said Monday.

Japhet Lopez, 33, and Kiele Lopez, 22, both of Newark, were charged as part of Operation Peddling Misery, a New Jersey State Police and Division of Criminal Justice investigation that targeted a “violent narcotics distribution enterprise” which allegedly sold large quantities of heroin and crack-cocaine in the area, prosecutors said.

According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office:

• Japhet Lopez, aka “King Japhet,” who controlled the racketeering enterprise, pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering and faces a recommended sentence of 15 years in state prison, including a period of 7.5 years of parole ineligibility.
• Kiele Lopez, aka “King Forty,” who was Japhet Lopez’s right-hand man, pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering and faces a recommended sentence of seven years in prison, including a period of parole ineligibility equal to 85 percent of the sentence imposed.

The four men were indicted along with 11 other defendants on July 13, 2017. Two additional members of the drug ring also recently pleaded guilty, prosecutors said:

• Carlos Rodriguez, aka “King Future,” 35, of Newark, pleaded guilty on March 29 to racketeering and faces a recommended sentence of eight years in state prison, including a period of parole ineligibility equal to 85 percent of the sentence imposed.
• Luis Diaz, 27, aka “King Stevie,” of Newark, pleaded guilty on March 9 to distribution of cocaine in a school zone and faces a recommended sentence of eight years in prison, including four years of parole ineligibility.

Sentencing for all four defendants is scheduled for May 25, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors:

“Japhet Lopez, Kiele Lopez, Carlos Rodriguez and three other men – Justin Rodriguez, Israel Carreras, and Julio Benabe – were charged in connection with the criminal restraint and attempted armed robbery of a member of a rival gang, the Triniterios, or 3NI, on May 5, 2016. They allegedly dragged the victim into the basement of an apartment building at 223 Mount Prospect Avenue in northern Newark, which served as a stronghold for the Latin Kings, where they restrained and beat him. During the incident, Luis Alequin, a Latin Kings gang member, was shot and killed in a stairwell of the building by individuals suspected to be associates of the robbery victim who came looking for him. The robbery victim broke free when the shots rang out and escaped through a back door of the building.”

Prosecutors said:

“During the investigation, sales of hundreds of wax folds of heroin by members of the drug ring, as well as sales of crack cocaine, were captured via surveillance at 223 Mount Prospect Avenue. In addition, sales of hundreds of vials of crack cocaine by ring members, as well as sales of heroin, were captured via surveillance at 38 May Street, an apartment building where Kiele Lopez lived with his girlfriend, Yaritza Perez, who also was charged in the indictment. Four handguns, including two defaced guns, more than 300 wax folds of heroin, over 100 vials of crack cocaine, and copies of the Latin Kings manifesto and other gang literature and paraphernalia were seized when search warrants were executed at those two locations and other residences of gang members.”

Prosecutors said that Japhet and Kiele Lopez held “top leadership positions” in the Newark Chapter of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) street gang.

Japhet Lopez was the ALKQN Second Crown or “Casique,” and was a former Third Crown or “warlord” who was acting as head of security, prosecutors said.

“The leaders of this Latin Kings gang were so cold and ruthless, they viciously beat their own members who fell out of line and were willing to kill to defend their drug-dealing turf,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan, acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

“Through this far-reaching investigation, we charged the entire hierarchy of this drug syndicate, from top leaders of the Latin Kings in Newark down to street-level dealers,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “These guilty pleas carry lengthy prison sentences, and we expect to send additional ring members to prison in the months ahead.”

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