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03
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND POLICE COMMISSIONER RAYMOND W.
KELLY ANNOUNCE TAKEDOWN OF 26 IN
MULTI-PHASE
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT DRUG INVESTIGATION
Brooklyn, October 24, 2012- Kings County
District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the
arrest of eight drug dealers who have been operating in the
Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and the arrest
of four additional individuals found in possession of
narcotics in the targeted locations. This takedown
brings to 26 the number of arrests made since July in the
context of a joint long-term, multi-phase investigation
conducted by the NYPD’s Brooklyn North Narcotics Major Case
Team and his office’s Major Narcotics Investigations Bureau.
District Attorney Hynes said: “The circumstances of
yesterday’s arrests bring to light the continuing threat
that such organized drug sale activity constitutes to the
children of our neighborhoods,” said District Attorney
Hynes. “Where drug business is being conducted near our
schools and day care centers, and our children are exposed
to the weapons that enforce this trade inside their very
homes, law enforcement must respond and such strong
prosecutions must be built.”
Police Commissioner Kelly said, “Once again, undercover
police officers put their lives at risk to make these
arrests possible and improve life for the law-abiding
residents of Bed-Stuy. I want to commend them, the
detectives of our Major Case unit and Brooklyn North
Narcotics Borough, and DA Hynes and his outstanding team of
prosecutors for bring these suspects to justice.”
Taken into custody yesterday were Naquan Brown, Herbert
Curtis, Zajuan Glaster, Desmond Jones, Dijon Martin, Jaquan
Pinckney, Tyquan Steele, and Daquan Tyson, all targets of
the ten-month investigation into crack and marijuana sales.
Search warrants were
executed and narcotics seized at the following locations:
70A Linden Street, Apartment 3; the ground floor apartment
of 753 Monroe Street; the basement and second floor
apartments of 823 Madison Street; and the third floor
apartment of 834 Madison Street.
At the 834 Madison Street apartment, detectives
recovered not only marijuana, scales and packaging
materials, but also a .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun with
a magazine bearing ten rounds and additional ammunition.
The firearm and ammunition were found under the bed
where an 11-month old child was sleeping; a 4-year old child
and a 14-year old child were also inside the apartment.
Resident Laronda Hardy was charged with three counts
of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in addition to weapons
and drug-related offenses.
Other individuals charged with drug possession as a
result of the takedown include Messiah Hagler, Marcus Martin
and Andrew Robinson.
In an earlier phase of the investigation, fourteen people
were arrested in July for drug activity taking place in
various Bedford-Stuyvesant locations, including the sale of
drugs in close proximity to P.S. 144.
The drug sales that were the subject of yesterday’s
takedown included sales made near P.S. 309 and within 200
feet of Ace Headstart
The case was investigated by Detective James DeLumen and
Sergeant Gerald Pappas of the Brooklyn North Narcotics Major
Case Team.
Assistant District Attorneys Maria Haymandou and Howard
Feldberg are prosecuting the case for the Major Narcotics
Investigations Bureau.
Marc J. Fliedner is the Chief of the Major Narcotics
Investigations Bureau.
Contact:
Sandy Silverstein
(718) 250-2300
02
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J.
HYNES AND NYPD COMMISSIONER RAYMOND W. KELLY ANNOUNCE
INDICTMENTS OF 11 INDIVIDUALS FOR THE ILLEGAL SALE OF 154
FIREARMS TO NYPD UNDERCOVER OFFICERS IN THREE SEPARATE STING
OPERATIONS
PISTOLS, SHOTGUNS, ASSAULT RIFLES AND
SEMI-AUTOMATIC HANDGUNS, INCLUDING A MACHINE GUN AND A
WEAPON THAT HAD BEEN USED IN A HOMICIDE WERE RECOVERED
Brooklyn, October 18, 2012 – Kings County District
Attorney Charles J. Hynes and Police Commissioner Raymond W.
Kelly, today announced the indictments of 11 people and the
seizure of 154 firearms resulting from three separate
undercover operations going back to 201l.
“While New York City remains the safest
large city in America, incidents of gun violence continue to
plague our communities,” said District Attorney Hynes. “The
number of shootings in New York demonstrates clearly the
need to keep illegal guns off the streets.”
Police Commissioner Kelly said,
“People who live in public housing or other low-income
sections of the city should be able to enjoy a measure of
freedom from fear that others may take for granted. That’s
why we engage in proactive policing in this city, and why we
collaborate with District Attorney Hynes and his prosecutors
to take guns off the street, in this case, some 150 taken
off the streets of Flatbush, Crown Heights and Bushwick.
Police officers risk their lives doing this, and continue to
do it despite the lack of national will to shut down the
iron pipeline that floods New York with so many illegal
guns. We pay so much attention to these neighborhoods to
make them safer, to bring some measure of freedom from fear
in Bushwick, that might be taken for granted in Brooklyn
Heights.”
The investigation has tracked
several of the weapons that ultimately wound up in the hands
of NYPD undercover officers.
Weapons were traced to the following states:
South Carolina (3); Pennsylvania (4); North Carolina
(4); Georgia (2); New York (2) and one each from Virginia,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Alabama and Maryland.
A total of 27 were defaced or had partially
obliterated serial numbers.
Investigators have learned that 14 of
the weapons were reported stolen in several states.
One gun was part of a burglary of a licensed gun
dealer in South Carolina, where a total of 34 guns were
stolen.
One weapon turned out to be the service gun
of a Pennsylvania State Trooper.
It was stolen from his home, during a burglary
earlier this year.
Six of the guns were used to commit
crimes in New York City.
One was used in a homicide and two other shootings.
Three guns were used in shootings where
someone was shot and injured, two were in Brooklyn.
Two weapons had been fired, but no one was hit.
They occurred in Brooklyn and Queens.
Several of these were sold to the undercover officers
just days after they had been used in the commission of a
crime. In total, 26 of the weapons were loaded when sold.
In the first investigation,
“Operation V-8”, the indictment alleges, an undercover
Brooklyn NYPD Firearms Investigation Unit detective bought a
total of 51 guns during 29 separate transactions from David
“Juice” Augustine, 24. Augustine is charged with multiple
counts including
Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree; Two counts of Criminal
Sale of a Firearm in the Second Degree and 38 counts of
Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree.
Augustine faces a maximum term of 25 years in prison if
convicted on the top count.
According to the indictment, the
sales were made on Flatbush Avenue in East Flatbush. He sold
pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and semi-automatic
handguns to the undercover officer over the course of the
investigation.
Augustine allegedly carried the
weapons inside soft-shell guitar cases, allowing him to walk
the streets undetected. The sales were made during the day,
in an area filled with shops, near churches and frequented
by school children. Augustine also sold the undercover
detective a bullet-proof vest.
The investigation into that matter
is continuing as is the investigation into how Augustine
obtained his guns in the first place.
During one of the 29 transactions
between Augustine and the undercover, a second man, Richard
James, 20, allegedly was also involved in the sale. An FIU
officer, who observed a sale to the undercover, allegedly
saw James hand Augustine a black plastic bag. That bag
contained a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol that Augustine
then sold to the undercover detective.
Augustine and James
were charged jointly for this sale.
James has been indicted for Criminal
Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree and faces up to 7
years in prison if convicted.
In the second investigation,
“Operation Trini”, according to the indictment, undercover
detectives from Brooklyn FIU bought a total of 87 weapons
from Kerwin “Trini” Gobin, 25, between November 2011 and
September 2012, in Crown Heights.
Most were loaded.
Along with pistols, revolvers and assault rifles,
Gobin sold a fully automatic Sten machine gun with a
25-bullet magazine—capable of firing 550 rounds per minute.
He transported his arsenal in black plastic bags and duffle
bags. Pursuant to a warrant, police searched Gobin’s home in
Crown Heights and recovered 144 rounds of ammunition.
Gobin was indicted on multiple charges including two counts of
Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree; two counts
of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Second Degree and 62
counts of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree.
Gobin faces a maximum of 25 years of incarceration if
convicted on the top count.
Six others who allegedly supplied
guns to Gobin have also been indicted. They are Hassan
Pasha, Yolanda Samuel, Stewart Hamilton, Travain Hillaire,
Claude Laguerre, and Chris Salikram.
They face between 7 and 15 years in prison.
A seventh individual, Kenneth
Marshall, has been indicted possessing stun guns that he
supplied to Gobin, who in turn sold them to the undercover
detective. If convicted, Marshall faces up to one year in
prison.
In the third investigation, “Operation Gates”, the indictment
alleges Henky Martinez, 34, a resident of Bushwick, sold 16
guns to a Manhattan FIU undercover detective, between August
2011 and June 2012. Martinez called or sent text messages to
the undercover when he had guns to sell. Among the guns sold
were semi-automatic pistols and handguns.
Martinez has been indicted on multiple counts, including Criminal
Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree,
Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Second Degree and 16 counts of
Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree.
He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for the top
count.
“The dangers that illegal guns pose
on our streets cannot be overstated,” said District Attorney
Hynes. “Sadly, we are all too familiar with instances where
passersby and even children were injured and killed when
criminals fired guns in our city. My office will continue to
work with the Firearms Investigations Unit of the NYPD to
vigorously investigate and prosecute all people involved in
the illegal sale of firearms; and we will seek the maximum
penalty for those found guilty.” DA Hynes thanked the NYPD
officers who conduct these, the most dangerous of all
undercover operations.
The following Brooklyn and Manhattan
FIU officers conducted the investigations: Detective Lynwood
Pleasant, Detective Jason O’Neill, Detective Edward
Brittain, Detective Rohan Thompson, Detective Brian Curley,
Detective Christopher Shaughnessy, Sergeant Donald Morgan,
Sergeant William Sommer, Lieutenant Michael Jennings and
Captain Raymond Festino.
The cases are being prosecuted by
Rackets Division Senior Assistant District Attorneys Eunyung
T. Oh, Gregg Pinto and John J. McNiff.
Also from the Rackets Division: Deputy Bureau Chief
Nicholas Batsidis, Executive Assistant District Attorney
Kevin Richardson, Executive Assistant District Attorney Josh
E. Hanshaft and Bureau Chief Hilda Mortensen.
Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets
Division.
An indictment is an accusatory
instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
Contact: Mia
Goldberg
(718) 250-2300
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
18-YEAR SENTENCE IN SEX
TRAFFICKING CASE
Brooklyn, October 16, 2012 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of sex trafficker Kendale “Ace”
Judge, 21, to six to 18 years in prison, for forcing a
13-year-old girl into prostitution.
Judge pleaded guilty to Sex Trafficking, on September
27. In addition to his prison term, when he is released, he
will have to register as a sex offender.
In September 2011, Judge, 22, met a 13-year-old runaway.
He gained her trust by promising to love and take
care of her, but instead beat her and forced her into
prostitution, and advertised her services with photographs
posted on the website, Backpage.com.
When she tried to escape, he tracked her down and beat her
and threw her down a flight of stairs. An accomplice
Shanique Davis, 21, aided Judge, by photographing the girl
and helping to keep her captive.
Davis is scheduled for sentencing on October 17, on
the charge of Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree.
She is expected to receive five years probation.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant District
Attorney Kathleen Collins. Laura Neubauer is Chief of the
Sex Trafficking Unit. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the
Rackets Division.
Contact:
Jonah Bruno
(718) 250-2300
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