Rapper Sentenced After Terrorizing Family In LI Home Invasion: DA

SHIRLEY, NY — A Middle Island man and well-known rapper was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by five years of post-supervision after being found guilty at a jury trial for his role in the violent burglary of a Shirley home in 2021, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Thursday.

On May 7, 2021, at about 3:30 a.m., Gregg “Frenchie” Hogan, 37, along with a group of men — some armed with guns — kicked in the front door of a Shirley home while a mother, father, and their 18-year-old son with autism slept inside, Tierney said.

The intruders targeted the home after receiving erroneous information that there would be a trove of cash and marijuana inside, prosecutors said.

The men ordered the family to lie face down on the ground. When the son didn't comply quickly enough, he was pistol-whipped, leaving him with facial cuts, Tierney said.

Unable to find the marijuana and the money, the assailants fled with some of the family’s belongings, including the son’s cell phone, Tierney said. During the trial, it was established that Hogan was one of the men that illegally entered the home, and that he also acted as the getaway driver, Tierney said.

Hogan was convicted June 21, 2022, on charges including three counts of first-degree burglary, a violent felony, and one count of second-degree burglary, a violent felony.

He was represented by attorney Anthony Scheller at sentencing. Scheller said prosecutors asked for 15 years, and the judge sentenced him to 12. Scheller maintained that Hogan was a rapper who met the others, thinking they were taking him to a studio and were going to pay him for laying tracks.

"He was sitting in the car," Scheller said.

He was not seen on Ring camera video, Scheller said, but a woman in the house said she saw him in the hall for a few seconds.

"I argued to [Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei] that he didn't tie anyone up, he didn't have a gun, he didn't pistol whip anybody," Scheller said, adding that Hogan plans to appeal.

"The pistol whipping of an innocent autistic young man in a failed home invasion is among the most outrageous crimes we have prosecuted. Hopefully this defendant’s conviction and significant prison sentence provides the victims with some sense of relief and security," said Tierney.

Two of Hogan’s co-defendants, Donte Thomas, 24, and Miguel Ruiz, 29, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, prosecutors said. Thomas was sentenced to nine years’ incarceration and Ruiz was sentenced to 10 years’ incarceration, Tierney said.

Another co-defendant, Brayan Medrano, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree attempted burglary and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17, Tierney said. Another participant in the crime, Hakim Muhammad, 20, was convicted of an unrelated murder in Utica County and is serving a sentence of 25 years to life for that conviction, Tierney said.