Long Island Gang Members Indicted On Attempted Murder, Racketeering Charges: Feds

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A 22-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in Central Islip Wednesday alleging three gang members, including two Long Island men and their North Carolina leader, engaged in racketeering and attempted murder, assaults, weapons possession, and drug dealing, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Bloodhound Brims street gang members Brandon Hicks, a 21-year-old Hauppauge resident who goes by "Bang Swoop" or "Swoopy," and Janell Johnson, a 20-year-old Shirley resident who goes by "Jahh Jahh" and "Glizzy," were previously arrested and will be arraigned at a later date.

The pair are currently incarcerated and awaiting trial on the earlier charges.

Hicks was arrested along with two others by the Suffolk County Police Firearm Suppression Team and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in 2020 after he crashed a car in Hauppauge and crack cocaine, fentanyl, and guns were found inside the car possession, Patch previously reported.

Johnson was rounded up in December along with 18 other gang members, including a teen charged in connection with a shooting outside of Lee Zeldin's house, authorities say ran wild across Long Island in a violent crime spree.

Jussiah Herbert, 26, goes by “Loko” and “Lokkoo BeenHoundin" and lives in Blanch, NC. He was arrested Wednesday in North Carolina and will make an initial appearance Thursday in federal court in Winston-Salem.

Herbert directed other gang members, including Hicks, to shoot at members of rival gangs on August 16, 2020, Aug. 25, 2020, and Oct. 15, 2020 at locations in Brentwood, Central Islip, and West Babylon, injuring a total of four people, prosecutors said.

In a fourth shooting on Sept. 15, 2021, in Bay Shore, Herbert and other gang members, including Johnson, shot at people they believed to be rival gang members.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York said, "As alleged, Herbert showed zero regard for others by ordering his underlings to carry out shootings that wounded numerous victims and endangered the community just so he could maintain and increase the violent reputation of the ruthless street gang that he led."

“This office and our law enforcement partners will continue working relentlessly to address gun violence in our district and bring to justice members of violent gangs," he said.

Ivan Arvelo, special agent-in-charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York, said,"Jussiah Herbert is accused of using violence, fear, and intimidation to maintain his leadership of the Bloodhound Brims street gang."

“He is alleged to have ruthlessly ordered gang members to commit horrific acts, to include attempted murder against suspected rival gang members to further his criminal enterprise and control Long Island neighborhoods so the BHB could thrive," he said. "HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe and free of violent gang members."

Hicks was also arrested on federal narcotics and firearms offenses in April 2021 and Johnson in December 2022 in connection with New York State conspiracy offenses.

The trio's attorney information was not immediately available from the U.S. Attorney's office.

Michael DeSantis contributed additional reporting to this story.