Bloods Bust: Charges Include Westchester Attempted Murder

GREENBURGH, NY — Thirteen members and associates of the Blood Hound Brims gang were indicted Wednesday in federal court on various racketeering, narcotics and firearms offenses, including three attempted murders, one of which took place in Greenburgh.

Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the gang is a subset of the national Bloods street gang.

“As alleged, the Blood Hound Brims gang was built for crime, with a leadership structure, subgroups known as ‘pedigrees,’ a system to impose discipline and dues paid to cover prison guns, drugs, commissary funds and lawyer fees,” Bharara said. “The Blood Hound Brims’ brand of havoc that allegedly included drugs, guns and violence affected several neighborhoods in New York City and Westchester and reached as far as Pennsylvania.”

According to information in the indictment:

The BHB was a criminal enterprise that operated principally in the greater New York area, from at least 2005 up to and including 2016. The BHB was a faction of the Bloods street gang, which operates nationwide, and is under the New York Blood Brim Army (“NYBBA”). The BHB operated within and around various locations in New York, including New York City, Westchester County, Elmira, and in Pennsylvania, as well as within and outside federal and state penal systems.

The BHB used a hierarchical structure that was organized, in part, by New York City borough, and that was maintained, in part, through the payment of dues. The founder and leader of the Gang was LATIQUE JOHNSON, and other members and associates of the BHB referred to JOHNSON as the “Godfather.” The Gang was divided into several “pedigrees,” each of which had its own leadership structure which was approved by JOHNSON. Leadership positions within the pedigrees included, among others, treasurers who collected dues from members of a particular pedigree, and individuals who performed security and disciplinary functions for the pedigree. In addition to JOHNSON, GREEN, SANCHEZ, MURRAY, MORTON, CHERRY, KAID, GRAYSON, ROSATIO and EVANS all held leadership positions within the Gang at different times.

Members of the BHB had regular meetings, sometimes called “pow wows” or “9-11s,” at which members were required to pay dues. Some of the meetings were among members of a particular pedigree, and other meetings were for all members of the Enterprise. Word of the meetings was disseminated via text message, word-of-mouth, and flyers. The BHB’s business, including rivalries with other gangs, shootings, the arrest of gang members, guns, and drugs, was regularly discussed at these meetings. “Kitty dues” – money that paid for commissary funds, lawyers, guns, and drugs, and that served as tribute to JOHNSON – were collected at these meetings. The BHB maintained its own rules and constitution that new members were required to learn. Members of the BHB also used code words and secret phrases to communicate with each other both while in prison and on the street in order to avoid detection by law enforcement.

One of the BHB’s principal objectives was to sell cocaine base, commonly known as “crack cocaine,” powder cocaine, and heroin, which members and associates of the BHB sold throughout the greater New York area and in Pennsylvania.

Members and associates of the BHB engaged in multiple acts of violence against rival gangs. These acts of violence included assaults and attempted murders, and were committed to protect the Gang’s drug territory, to retaliate against members of rival gangs who had encroached on the territory controlled by the BHB, and to otherwise promote the standing and reputation of the Gang vis-à-vis rival gangs. These acts of violence also included assaults and attempted murders against members and associates of the BHB itself, as part of internal power struggles within the Gang.

For example, on or about April 3, 2009, in Greenburgh, New York, CHERRY and MORTON attempted to murder KAID during a power struggle within the BHB, during which MORTON shot and injured KAID, who survived the shooting. Then, on or about January 28, 2012 in the Bronx, New York, JOHNSON and MURRAY attempted to murder two members of a rival gang when JOHNSON fired into a fried chicken restaurant, injuring two individuals who survived the shooting. The violence continued, and on or about September 26, 2012 in the Bronx, New York, JOHNSON, KAID and CANNON attempted to kill two other members of a rival gang at whom KAID fired gunshots.

Count One of the Indictment charges LATIQUE JOHNSON, BRANDON GREEN, INES SANCHEZ, DONNELL MURRAY, THOMAS MORTON, DAVID CHERRY, SAEED KAID, ERIC GRAYSON, MARQUES CANNON, MANUEL ROSARIO, MICHAEL EVANS, and TERRELL PINKNEY with participating in a racketeering conspiracy.

Count Two charges JOHNSON and MURRAY with assault and attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering in connection with the January 28, 2012 shooting at members of a rival gang.

Count Three charges JOHNSON, KAID and CANNON with assault and attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering in connection with the September 26, 2012 shooting at members of a rival gang.

Count Four of the Indictment charges JOHNSON, GREEN, MURRAY, MORTON, CHERRY, KAID, GRAYSON, CANNON, ROSARIO, EVANS, and PATRICK DALY with participating in a narcotics conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, powder cocaine and heroin.

Count Five of the Indictment charges GREEN, MURRAY, MORTON, CHERRY, KAID, GRAYSON, CANNON, ROSARIO, EVANS and PINKNEY, with firearms offenses in connection with the racketeering and narcotics conspiracies charged in Counts One and Four, respectively.

Counts Six and Seven of the Indictment charge JOHNSON with firearms offenses in connection with the racketeering and narcotics conspiracies charged in Counts One and Four, respectively, and with use of a firearm in connection with assault and attempted murder in aid of racketeering in connection with Count Two.

For more on the charges and penalties, as well as ages and residences of the defendants, go here.

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