10 Arrested In Queens Drug Ring Bust, DA Says

QUEENS, NY — Investigators arrested 10 suspects and seized $250,000 in cash in a Queens drug ring bust, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The 10 men face drug and weapon charges for their alleged roles in a Queens-based drug trafficking ring that sold cocaine and marijuana between January 2018 and March 2019, the Queens DA's office announced Tuesday. One of the 10 men pleaded guilty to criminal drug possession and received a one-year prison sentence, prosecutors said.

Police raided 12 locations — 11 in Queens, plus one Brooklyn home — as part of the yearlong investigation. They seized five guns, 400 grams of cocaine, 11 pounds of marijuana and $264,000 in cash, according to the DA's office.

Prosecutors identified the 10 suspects as:

• Earnest Charles Jr., 44, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Charles faces one to nine years in prison.
• Hermes Bermudez, 40, of Rego Park, Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Bermudez faces one to nine years in prison.
• Marcus Thomas, 41, of Queens Village, Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Thomas faces one to nine years in prison.
• Cashuwell Bradley, 30, of Queens Village, Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Bradley faces one to nine years in prison.
• Abraham Aessa, 38, of Queens Village, Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Aessa faces 7 to 15 years in prison.
• Sergio Pettiford, 36, of Queens Village, Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Pettiford faces 7 to 15 years in prison.
• Joseph Husbands, 64, of Jamaica, Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Husbands faces 3 to 10 years in prison.
• Gary Harris, 54, of Jamaica, Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. If convicted, Harris faces between one and nine years in prison.
• Noel Mackenson, 38, of Queens Village, Queens, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance on March 20, 2019. The defendant was sentenced to one year in prison.
• Jonathan Francis, 36, of Queens Village, Queens, was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, Francis faces 3 ½ to 15 years in prison.

"In working to reduce crime past already record-lows in New York City, the NYPD is relentless in our pursuit of the relatively small percentage of the population driving the violence and disorder," NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said in a statement. "We are achieving this because of the full and willing partnership of New Yorkers in every neighborhood and the unrivaled assistance of our law-enforcement partners."

The NYPD’s Narcotics Borough Queens South and the Queens District Attorney’s Narcotics Investigations Bureau began investigating the drug ring in January 2018. Investigators intercepted telephone calls and used GPS location monitoring and surveillance to arrest the 10 suspects, four of whom were arrested last week.