2 Brooklyn Gang Members Face Life In Prison After Guilty Pleas

WEST ISLIP, NY —Two gang members from Brooklyn pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in a Long Island federal court on Wednesday, and they could face life imprisonment after admitting their roles in murders, attempted murders and a kidnapping, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Dylan Cruz, 30, and Richard Michel, 41, were members of the Red Lane Gorillas set of the Bloods street gang.

According to court filings and statements by the defendants, the pair, along with other members of the Red Lane Gorillas, were engaged in a violent gang war against rival gangs, including the 5-9 Brims set of the Bloods in Nassau County and Brooklyn.

The defendants also engaged in extreme violence against people suspected of disloyalty within their own gang.

Cruz admitted to his roles in two murders committed on Long Island, an attempted murder and conspiring to murder rival gang members in Brooklyn.

Michel, meanwhile, admitted to his role in a murder committed with Cruz, a kidnapping and the attempted murder of a disloyal Bloods member, authorities said.

"With today's guilty pleas, the defendants have admitted their involvement in a slew of senseless violent crimes, including murders, committed in furtherance of a criminal enterprise, the Bloods gang," said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

Peace continued: "This office, along with its federal and state law enforcement partners, will continue its unrelenting efforts to eradicate gang violence in the district and hold accountable all those who threaten the safety and well-being of our communities."

According to records of the guilty plea proceedings, Cruz and Michel admitted their roles in the 2012 murder of Anthony Richard, whom they wrongly suspected of assisting in a 2010 murder of a member of their gang.

Cruz and Michel, together with fellow gang members and associates, located the victim, obtained a firearm, and followed the victim's vehicle to Baldwin Harbor. There, Cruz fired approximately 15 shots in the victim's vehicle at close range, killing Richards and wounding a passenger.

Cruz also admitted to the 2010 shooting of a rival gang member in Roosevelt and to conspiring to kill rival gang members in Queens. Plus, he admitted to the 2015 murder of Ehrik Williams in Hempstead, according to court records.

Michel, according to court records, admitted to the 2011 kidnapping and assault of a gang member in Hempstead and the 2016 attempted murder of a disloyal fellow Bloods member in Uniondale.

The court did not say when Cruz and Michel would be sentenced.