Inwood Gang Bust: Accused 'Kingpin' Pleads Not Guilty, Held Without Bail

INWOOD, NY — The 21 members of an Inwood Street gang arrested during an NYPD sting have pleaded not guilty and will be held pending bail hearings, which begin Friday, according to a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney. For Inwood news — including follow ups on the gang takedown — click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts.

The alleged gang members were arrested in a sweep Wednesday and are accused of selling cocaine in building lobbies and gated entrances of residential buildings on Vermilyea Avenue between West 204th and West 207th streets the DA said. In total, 32 people were charged but 11 were able to evade arrest Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the DA's office told Patch.

Police and prosecutors have singled out two brothers — 44-year-old Jose Luperon and 42-year-old Omar Luperon — who they say served as the gang's ringleaders. The brothers have been charged with "operating as a major trafficker" — also known as the "drug kingpin" statute, according to the DA.

See Wednesday's report for the complete story on the Inwood street gang takedown.

Prosecutors named three other defendants as top-level members in the gang — Juan Flores, 35, Steve Rojas, 34 and Xavier Vargas, 29. Flores served as a supervisor along with the Luperon brothers; Rojas and Vargas served as lower-level managers who oversaw the gang's seven street dealers and 15 "steerers," the DA charges. They were in charge of conducting street-level purchases, steering customers to drug sales, stashing drugs and acting as lookouts, according to the DA.

"These arrests shutter an alleged criminal organization that pumped narcotics into a quiet residential neighborhood 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said Wednesday.

Wednesday's indictment was the result of a longterm investigation into Inwood's drug trafficking. Police wiretapped suspects' phones and bought drugs from them while posing as customers, according to the DA. The trafficking ring is believed to have operated from Aug. 29, 2015, to Dec. 26, 2016. Its members worked in shifts to sell drugs 24 hours per day on Vermilyea Avenue, during which time they made more than 100 crack cocaine sales, the DA said.

Defense attorneys will ask for bail on Jan. 6 and Jan 13, a spokeswoman for the DA's office told Patch.

Here's a full list of the 32 accused gangsters and what they have been charged with:

1. Jose Luperon: 1 count operating as a major trafficker, 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 8 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
2. Omar Luperon: 1 count operating as a major trafficker, 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 2 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
3. Juan Flores: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
4. Tyreak Anderson: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 2 counts second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, 2 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
5. Eddie Ocasio: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 2 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
6. Steve Rojas: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 56 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
7. Xavier Vargas: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 25 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
8. Alfred Arias: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
9. Ramon Almonte: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 45 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
10. Jesse Collado: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 50 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
11. Francisco Medina: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
12. Miguel Tejada: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
13. Arismendy Santana: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
14. Robinson Collado: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
15. Julio Velazquez: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
16. Edward Adames: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 3 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
17. Alan Burgos: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 7 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
18. Merlin Chama: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 11 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
19. Jessie Contreras 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 3 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
20. Brian Espinal 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 15 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
21. Miguel Garcia: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 11 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
22. Cristian Guzman: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 3 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
23. Jahaciel Hernandez: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 9 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
24. Christopher Morato: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 7 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
25. Elias Riva: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 16 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
26. Radhames Rojas: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 36 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
27. Edward Sanchez: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 24 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
28. Rafael Solano: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 10 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
29. Matthew Tineo: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 12 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
30. Melvin Tineo: 1 count second-degree conspiracy, 8 counts third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.
31. William Velez: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.
32. Alejandro Bautista: 1 count second-degree conspiracy.

Read the full indictment from the Manhattan District Attorney's office here:

Photo by Google Maps street view