44 Indicted In Monmouth County Street Gang, Heroin Scheme

Forty-four people were implicated in a criminal steet gang robbery-and-heroin drug sweep undertaken by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and a number of other law enforcement agencies, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Tuesday.

The 219-count indictment includes charges against members of the “Bloods” and “Crips” criminal street gangs. An Asbury Park Police Department patrolman was also indicted as part of the criminal organization, in addition to the two owners of a pawn shop in Neptune City.

Members of the criminal enterprise developed a relationship with Frederick K. Ecke, 28, and Eric J. Fitzgerald, 28, both of Toms River, who are the owners/managers of Cash It In, a pawn shop located in Neptune City.

Over the course of the investigation, members of the criminal organization, including James Fair, 26; Haneef Walker, Jackson, Tishonda Walker, Shayvon Raynor, 21, of Asbury Park; and Tyasia Williams, 24, of Neptune Township, acted together to shoplift from area stores and sell the merchandise to Ecke and Fitzgerald at Cash It In, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Ecke and Fitzgerald then sold the stolen merchandise on eBay through their business eBay account. For their roles in this organized shoplifting scheme, Ecke, Fitzgerald, Raynor, and Williams were charged with racketeering conspiracy, as well as other theft-related offenses.The 14-month investigation, dubbed “Operation Dead End,” began in the summer 2013 in conjunction with law enforcement efforts to stem violent street crimes and firearms offenses in Asbury Park.

During the investigation, members of the criminal organization and their conspirators based their criminal activities out of two dead end streets in Asbury Park – Dewitt Avenue, and a section of Jersey Street in the Washington Village Public Housing Complex.

According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office:

The investigation revealed that members of the criminal organization acted together on numerous occasions to commit a series of armed robberies, residential burglaries, and thefts, and included an organized shoplifting ring that had an established relationship with the owners of a local pawn shop.

The investigation further revealed that members of the criminal organization regularly conspired to commit several different firearms-related offenses including unlawfully possessing firearms, transferring guns between various members of the criminal organization, and targeting rival gang members and enemies for shootings.

The investigation also revealed that members of the criminal organization supported their criminal activities by distributing narcotics including cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, and “molly,” a form of ecstasy. The investigation further revealed the coordinated efforts of members of the organization to distract law enforcement and conduct counter-surveillance of law enforcement, which included obtaining the assistance of an Asbury Park police officer who provided information to the leaders of the organization.

Two of the leaders of the criminal enterprise – Fair and Altyreek Leonard, 21, both of Asbury Park – conspired with several other members of the criminal enterprise to obtain and transfer guns amongst the organization and to target rival street gang members for shootings

To that end, Fair and Leonard directed others within the criminal organization to notify them when their enemies were located and to then assist Fair and/or Leonard in attempting to shoot at their enemies. For their roles in directing and planning these crimes, as well as other crimes including robbery, burglary, and firearms possession, Fair and Leonard were both charged with promoting organized street crime and racketeering conspiracy.

The members of the criminal organization with whom Fair and Leonard conspired to possess, transfer and/or use firearms include: Harry Clayton, 34; Alexander Walton, 19; Haneef Walker, 22; Clarence Jackson 3rd, 26; Corderian Strickland, 27; Anthony Lanier, 21; Richard Hammond, 32; Tyrice Berry, 21; Todd Howard, 23; Jashawn Mack, 26; Tarik Cox, 23; Ja’air Butler, 18; Kyre Wallace, 27; and Tishonda Walker, 26, all of Asbury Park; Imere Meredith 21, of Neptune; Anthony Esdaile, 32, of Neptune City; Bilaal Scurdy, 21, of Long Branch; Quiana Robinson, 20, of Tinton Falls; Ayres Gray, 18, of Manalapan; Anthony Long, 33, of Freehold Township; and Deron Anglin, 27, of Newark. In addition to firearms offenses, these individuals were charged with racketeering conspiracy for their association and involvement in the criminal enterprise.

Tyan Harvey, 22, of Newark, and Alvin Durham, 26, of Union, were also charged with firearms offenses arising from a gun recovered by the police during a motor vehicle stop, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Throughout the investigation, members of the criminal organization attempted to avoid detection or apprehension through the use of coordinated tactics to direct police activity away from particular areas of Asbury Park, which included calling in reports of false emergencies and attempting to fire shots into the air.

Additionally, Patrolman Keith German, 46, of Tinton Falls, a 16-year veteran officer of the Asbury Park Police Department, assisted the members of the criminal organization in avoiding detection and prosecution by providing them with confidential law enforcement information, including on one occasion unlawfully accessing a law enforcement database. German also sought and obtained Fair’s help in the course of stalking a victim, which at various times occurred while German was on duty as a police officer.

On one particular occasion in December 2013, law enforcement officers intervened just prior to a targeted shooting of a rival gang member that Fair had planned and directed outside of a business in Asbury Park. On a separate day in December 2013, Walton, Haneef Walker, Jackson, and Strickland assisted Fair in shooting at a different victim’s house while the victim and his family were inside, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Similarly, in January 2014, Leonard directed Butler and Gray, who were both 17 years old at the time, to assist him in obtaining a firearm for the purpose of shooting at several rival gang members who were on the porch of a house in Asbury Park.

Fair and Haneef Walker also committed an armed robbery outside of a Neptune Township business in September 2013 and attempted to commit another armed robbery in Asbury Park in December 2013. In January 2014, Fair assisted Wallace and Esdaile in the commission of a home invasion armed robbery in Asbury Park. On several other occasions in late 2013, Fair burglarized residences in Asbury Park. During one of those burglaries, he was assisted by Jackson. On other occasions in December 2013 and February 2014, Fair and Mack planned and committed several thefts involving victims who were drug buyers or addicts.

Fair and Leonard also conspired with other members of the criminal organization to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, oxycodone, and “molly” in the Asbury Park area. Those other members include: Latoya Tatum, 28, Jacquil Jones, 25, Eugene Wilmore, 25, all of Asbury Park, Amanda Howland, 22, of Neptune City; Sammie Curtis, 58, of Neptune, and Rogerio Pereira, 30, of Eatontown, who were also charged with racketeering conspiracy for their involvement in the criminal enterprise, as well as Long, Clayton, Haneef Walker, Jackson, Howard, Mack, Berry, Scurdy, Robinson, Lanier, and Hammond.

Several other defendants were charged with conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance and possession of a controlled dangerous substance for purchasing narcotics from members of the criminal enterprise, including the following individuals: Frank C. Vanness, 56, and Jane Brown, 63, both of Neptune Township; Roccal Gilmore, 42, of Spotswood; Brittany Collora, 24, of Ocean Grove; Jammara Kemp, 25, of South River, Justice T. Sharpe, 20, of Ocean, and Tysana Taylor, 46, and Rashan Bragg, 34, both of Asbury Park, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

To-date, law enforcement has seized five firearms, two vehicles used in support of the criminal enterprise, and quantities of cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, and “molly.”

Alexander Walton, 19, of Asbury Park, Richard Hammond, 32, of Asbury Park, Anthony Long, 33, of Freehold Township, and Justice T. Sharpe, 20, of Ocean remain fugitives at-large.

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