Members of Violent Yonkers Gang 'Cruddy 650' Indicted on Murder, Bank Robbery Charges

Eleven members and associates of the Yonkers street gang Cruddy 650 were recently indicted on a multitude of charges including murder, bank robbery and witness tampering, United States Attorney Preet Bharara and authorities announced Monday.

All but two of the suspects were already in custody, and the other two, James Morris of Yonkers and Paul Negrin of Hollywood, FL, were arrested separately on Sunday. The new indictments supersede previous indictments and include additional charges, according to Bharara.

Among the charges against the suspects are “racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, bank robbery, firearms offenses, and witness tampering.”

Of the 11 defendants, the oldest is 24 years old, and the youngest is 18.

The Yonkers and Westchester County police departments, and the Westchester District Attorney’s office assisted federal authorities in the case, as did the Peekskill Police Department.

The new indictments are related to the murder of Andre Folsom, “who was shot through the head in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Greenacres, Florida, on May 26, 2014,” according to authorities.

“As alleged, members of the Cruddy 650 gang terrorized the streets and businesses of southwest Yonkers with countless robberies and other acts of violence,” said Bharara in a statement. “Members of the gang also allegedly took their criminal activities on the road, traveling to Florida, leading to tragic consequences for murder victim Andre Folsom and his family. I want to commend and thank the FBI and the Yonkers Police Department on their outstanding investigation.”

According to the indictments, the suspects named are accused of the following :

Cruddy 650 is a criminal enterprise operating principally in and around the City of Yonkers, New York. Cruddy 650 was founded in 2013 as the result of an alliance between gang members hailing from various parts of Yonkers, including Riverdale Avenue, Woodworth Avenue, Warburton Avenue, and Cottage Place Gardens. Even after the alliance, members of the gang hailing from Cottage Place Gardens continued to identify primarily as “Cruddy,” while members of the gang hailing from Riverdale Avenue identified primarily as “650.”

Cruddy 650 members and associates protected and promoted the gang’s power and territory, and sought to enrich its members, through acts of violence, intimidation, and the sale of illegal drugs. During the time period relevant to the Superseding Indictment, members and associates of Cruddy 650 were responsible for multiple shootings and attempted murders, street robberies, robberies of banks and other businesses, bank fraud, witness tampering, and the distribution of narcotics, including crack cocaine and marijuana. Victims of the shootings and other acts of violence perpetrated by members of Cruddy 650 included both rival gang members and innocent bystanders.

The violence of the Cruddy 650 enterprise and its members spread from Yonkers, New York, to Florida. On or about May 26, 2014, KEVIN WILTSHIRE murdered Andre Folsom in Greenacres, Florida, shooting him in the head during a dispute in the parking lot of a Walmart store. The Second Superseding Indictment alleges that WILTSHIRE committed the murder in order to maintain and increase his position in Cruddy 650.

Counts One and Two of the Second Superseding Indictment charge DIONDRE CARLISLE, MYKAI DAVIS, RAKEEM FLOWERS, TYRONE SMITH, WILTSHIRE, SAUDY GUERRERO, DARNELL KIDD, JAMES MORRIS, and PAUL NEGRIN with racketeering conspiracy and firearms offenses in connection with that conspiracy. As alleged, various combinations of those defendants committed at least four shootings, and 11 robberies or attempted robberies, six of which were armed, in furtherance of the conspiracy. Counts Three and Four of the Second Superseding Indictment charge WILTSHIRE with murder in aid of racketeering activity and a related firearms offense. Count Five charges CARLISLE, DAVIS, FLOWERS, CESAR MUNGUIA, ISAIAH WASHINGTON, WILTSHIRE, GUERRERO, KIDD, and MORRIS with Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy. Count Six charges CARLISLE, DAVIS, FLOWERS, CESAR MUNGUIA, WILTSHIRE, GUERRERO, KIDD, and MORRIS with a firearms offense related to the Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy. As in the initial Indictment, CARLISLE, WASHINGTON, and WILTSHIRE are charged with bank robbery in connection with the October 27, 2014, robbery of a Citibank branch in Yonkers; CARLISLE is charged with attempted bank robbery in connection with the November 3, 2014, attempted robbery of a Chase Bank branch in Yonkers; and FLOWERS and TYRONE SMITH, are charged with witness tampering in connection with their threats against an individual who provided information to law enforcement relating to the November 3 attempted robbery of the Chase Bank branch.

“We now have all 11, herein identified, members of the Cruddy 650 enterprise in custody where they can answer for the full extent of their alleged criminal activities,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez. “The FBI thanks all its law enforcement partners, with whom we worked tirelessly, not only in the New York area, but up and down the East Coast. We will continue to protect our communities from senseless violence, such as that alleged in the indictments, which serves only to promote illegal operations and terrify anyone who threatens their activities.”

Added Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner, “This group of individuals recklessly engaged in numerous violent crimes against our residents. These indictments will remove these violent gang members from our community and make our city a safer place. Ongoing investigations with our federal law enforcement partners will continue to target those persons who choose to engage in this type of activity. I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI Violent Crimes Task force for their tireless efforts in this investigation.”

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester Violent Crimes Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives of the FBI, the City of Yonkers Police Department, the Westchester County Police, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, and the City of Peekskill Police Department. He also thanked the FBI’s Miami Division and the Greenacres Department of Public Safety for their assistance.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Hartman, George Turner, and Jessica Feinstein are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.