4 Accused In Jail Cell Murder Conspiracy: DA

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A high-ranking gang member in jail in Westchester County is accused of plotting with two girlfriends and a fellow gang member to kill an eyewitness in a pending criminal case. The plot was hatched from inside the jail, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. said Thursday.

“Our mission is always to keep Westchester safe and secure, and with that in mind, the safety of witnesses in every case is paramount. A witness to a crime should never fear coming forward. We do everything we can to ensure their safety and this case proves that.” Scarpino said.

The quartet:

• Jason Garcia, aka “Mecca-J," 26, of Mount Vernon
• Laquanna Kershaw, aka “Q,” aka “Quanna," 31, Ossining
• Cassaundra Dunham, Aka “Saun," 42, Yonkers
• Damien Rickard, aka Damien Richardson, aka “Soldier," 41, Elmsford

They were arraigned Thursday by Westchester County Court Judge David Zuckerman. Garcia and Rickard were remanded to the county jail; Kershaw and Dunham had bail set at $250,000.

The underlying case charges Garcia and a co-defendant with attempted murder for a shooting at the Garden Bar in Mount Vernon Dec. 10, 2016. Two victims were shot there and permanently injured. That case was set to begin trial soon.

Prosecutors allege Kershaw and Dunham were “girlfriends” of Garcia, a high-ranking member of the G-Shine Bloods gang, who were allowed to visit the jail and, in person and through phone calls.

Westchester County District Attorney investigators said they learned that Garcia was using a secreted cellular telephone and other means to communicate with his accomplices. Through telephone calls, the co-conspirators used coded language to discuss their plans to locate and kill the witness.

While on release from jail on an unrelated case, Rickard , also a G-Shine member, was recruited by his co-conspirators to find and kill the witness, prosecutors alleged.

Garcia directed Rickard to kill the witness and arranged for Dunham to provide Rickard with a loaded handgun, equipped with a laser-sight, for that purpose. Garcia and Kershaw discussed at length the whereabouts of the witness and the best place to commit the murder, preferring a location that did not have surveillance cameras, prosecutors said.

On March 16, Dunham and Rickard were arrested in the vicinity of Park Avenue, Yonkers, after law enforcement watched the hand-off of the gun from Dunham to Rickard.

The indictment reads as follows:

Count 1: The four defendants are charged with Attempted Murder in the First Degree, a class A violent felony. The indictment alleges that together they attempted to commit the murder of an eyewitness.

• Count 2: All four defendants and a fifth unnamed co-conspirator are charged with Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class C felony. The indictment states, from Aug. 21, 2018, to on or about March 16, 2019, they were involved in conspiring to commit the class A-1 felony of Murder in the First Degree to stop a witness from testifying.
• Count 3: Defendants Garcia, Dunham and Rickard are charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony.
• Count 4: Kershaw is charged with Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree, a class D felony, for bringing an illegal phone charger into the jail.
• Count 5: Garcia is charged with Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree, a class D felony, for possessing an illegal cellphone.

The District Attorney’s Office Investigations Division and Criminal Investigators were assisted in this investigation by the Westchester County Department of Correction and received additional support from the Yonkers Police Department, the Village of Ossining Police Department and the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.

“Witness intimidation undermines the capacity of law enforcement to deliver justice to victims, which is essential," Westchester County Executive George Latimer said. "I thank County Police, Yonkers Police and Ossining Police for their help in this long investigation.”

The case is being prosecuted by members of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Investigations Division Gang, Firearms and Narcotics Bureau and Public Integrity Bureau.

“I would like to recognize the work of our Department’s Major Case Squad for its involvement in this highly-sensitive investigation," Correction Commissioner Joseph K. Spano said. "The Squad worked in close collaboration with the District Attorney’s Office and other police agencies for weeks, gathering critical jail-based intelligence which was relied on to support today’s indictments.”