Bloods Gang Member Pleads Guilty In Cold Case Murder: DOJ

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead member of the Bloods street gang has pleaded guilty to a drive-by shooting in 2007 that left a 15-year old dead, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

According to Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Trendell Walker, 31, pleaded guilty Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Central Islip to the firearm-relate murder of Alvin Brothers in Bellport on August 7, 2007.

Walker, also known as "Live Wire" and "Debo," pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke; when sentenced, Walker faces a maximum of life in prison, the U.S. DOJ said in a release.

Donoghue, William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director-in-charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York field office; Peter C. Fitzhugh, special agent-in-charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York field office; and Geraldine Hart, Commissioner of the Suffolk
County Police Department, announced the guilty plea, the DOJ said.

According to court filings and facts presented at the plea proceeding, on Aug. 6, 2007, several individuals assaulted Walker and attempted to rob him, the DOJ said.

The next day, Walker met with fellow Bloods gang members and devised a plan to retaliate against his assailants; Walker and other Bloods gang members, armed with firearms, drove to Bellport, where they observed Brothers and several young people standing on the corner of Post Avenue and Patchogue Avenue, the DOJ said.

Walker and other gang members opened fire on the group; Brothers was shot and died from his wounds, the DOJ said.

The government’s case is being handled by the office’s Long Island criminal division. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher C. Caffarone and Mark E. Misorek are in charge of the prosecution, the DOJ said.

“Today’s plea demonstrates the department’s unwavering commitment to holding accountable gang members like defendant Walker who show complete disregard for human life,” Donoghue said. “This office and our law enforcement partners will continue working tirelessly to eliminate violent gangs from our communities.”