NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced on Wednesday that 34 alleged members of two rival street gangs were variously charged in a 122-count indictment.
Charges for the Brownsville-based street gangs known as WOOO (We On Our Own) and CHOO include attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, first- and second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, first- and second-degree rape, and related charges in connection to 13 shootingd in Brooklyn.
Nine of those shootings were attempted murder shootings and four were reckless endangerment shootings, officials say.
A long term investigation between these two rival criminal organizations began on Feb. 1, 2018 and officials allege that WOOO and CHOO members engaged in a type of war where gang members would search or hunt for rival members in rival territories and then shoot them on sight.
Shootings were conducted by both sides in a game of one-upmanship, to embarrass rival gang members and to contest geographic dominance over territories in which the rivals resided.
There were also16 firearms recovered during the investigation.Some of the defendants allegedly targeted and exploited young women to act as "holsters" and carry and transport weapons for gang members.
Police say the teen girls would carry the guns, while the gang members walked nearby and directed the girls to various locations providing the weapons as needed
for the purposes of shooting rival gang members.
The teens were allegedly expected to face any gun charges if arrested, in hopes that they would receive a lighter sentence due to their age and gender.
Authorities also charge 20-year-old Tyquan Ellison and 19-year-old Jayquan Wise with first- and second-degree rape for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Ellison is charged with sex trafficking. Police believe that in order to enhance his status within the gang, he allegedly forced the 14-year-old girl to have sex with Wise.There are also nine counts of attempted murder related to shootings in which innocent bystanders, were struck and four counts of reckless endangerment related to four additional shootings, including in Brooklyn.
Police released the names of the alleged gang members:
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