Crime & Safety

2 Murders: More 'Goonies' Face New Federal Charges

The deaths of a 13-year-old and a 30-year-old are added to charges against members of a Mount Vernon-based street gang.

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Federal prosecutors announced superseding indictments, arrests and federal criminal charges against a dozen gang members in the Mount Vernon area, including murder charges for the shooting deaths of 13-year-old Shamoya McKenzie and Dean Daniels. The announcement Thursday added to charges against the 'Goonies' street gang.

The 12 are Markel Overton, also known as Kellz; Thomas Blanton, aka LT; Marquis Collier, aka Keise; Kadeem Dinham, aka Polo; Donnie Dixon, aka Scooter; David Hardy, aka Mooka; Jermaine Hughley; aka Blacks; Raheem Jones, aka Rah Trigger; Sincere Savoy, aka Bitty; Jamaal Sinclair, aka Diggz; Noel Smith, aka Georgie; and Ernest Webb, aka Ern and Ern Mills.

They're charged with various crimes relating to racketeering, murder, narcotics, and firearms offenses as a result of their membership in the “Goonies” street gang that operated in Mount Vernon.

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Eight members of the 'Goonies' were arraigned in October in federal court in White Plains. The Superseding Indictment, S1 17 Cr. 644 (NSR) (the “Superseding Indictment”), charges four additional defendants with racketeering charges and also charges the following with two murders in Mount Vernon, New York:

  • Hardy, Collier, Hughley and Savoy with the Dec. 31, 2016, murder of Shamoya McKenzie, a 13-year-old innocent bystander; and
  • Webb with the Sept. 22, 2014, murder of Dean Daniels.

Daniels, a Harrison resident, was killed while walking in Mount Vernon in 2014.

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McKenzie, a rising high school basketball star who wanted to play for UConn, was killed last New Year's Eve, in a car with her mom. Police say the gang members had targeted a passenger in the back seat.

“For the better part of a decade, the Goonies have had a grip on neighborhoods in and around the City of Mount Vernon," Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said in the announcement. "Through intimidation and violence, they’ve jeopardized the safety and quality of life for the hard working residents of Mount Vernon. That violence turned deadly on at least two occasions when the lives of Shamoya McKenzie and Dean Daniels were cut short. While we were able to charge David Hardy for the senseless murder of Shamoya, our partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI will now enable us to charge others who also participated in those crimes. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of federal, state and local law authorities, these defendants will all be held accountable for the crimes they now stand accused of.”

Prosecutors said from 2007 to 2017, members and associates of the Goonies committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence, including attempted murder and robbery; they conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute narcotics; and they obtained, possessed, and used firearms, including by brandishing and firing them.

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