NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens grand jury indicted 23 alleged members of two warring gangs for a series of shootings and other violent incidents carried out against each other, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Tuesday.
The defendants were members of warring Crips subsets — the Rollin’ Crips from Astoria and the Eight Trey Crips from Woodside, prosecutors claimed.
The two gangs were aligned with each other until one of the 8 Trey members allegedly attacked a Rollin’ Crip member over a drug deal.
The next day, Rollin’ Crip members allegedly retaliated by shooting an 8 Trey member in the leg.
Over the course of the war, gang members engaged in at least 18 acts of gun violence, officials said.
The shootings often took place in crowded areas, putting others at risk.
In one instance on June 14, 2020, Devine Moore and Michael Shepherd fired at a vehicle while standing next to an ice cream truck, endangering nearby children.
In another on Aug. 22, 2020, members of the rival gangs got in a shootout near a playground crowded with families.
Authorities launched an investigation into the war after a mother was fatally hit by a bullet while out buying milk.
“Warring gangs are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of us. The reckless criminality we saw during the course of this investigation is the kind of lawlessness that has killed lawabiding New Yorkers caught in the crossfire of gang gun violence,” said Katz. “I commend the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Unit and my Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau for their outstanding work over the course of this long investigation, and I thank them for the important work they do.”
The defendants were hit with an 85-count indictment charging them with conspiracy, attempted murder, reckless endangerment, gun possession and related charges. The majority were arraigned last week.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison.
They will return to court in March.
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