PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — District Attorney Larry Krasner says detectives, Federal agents and the Gun Violence Task Force have linked a gang, which was based in Strawberry Mansion, with a series of shootings from 2021 to 2022 — including several murders. He announced charges against eight defendants on Monday.
A grand jury has determined that Jamir Brunson-Gans, 21; Dontae Sutton, 20; Khalil Henry, 20; Elijah Soto, 19; Nakye Williams, 19; Haneef Davis, 19; Jahlil Williams, 25; and Rahmeir Hayes, 22, are implicated in five shooting deaths and eight non-fatal shootings — and that seven of these eight defendants are associated with a group known as the “Big Naddy Gang” (BNG) and another defendant is a member of the “Zoo Gang.”
All are charged with murder, attempted murder and related gun offenses.
Four members of the group — Sutton, Brunson-Gans, Soto and Henry — are charged with other murders and shootings in Strawberry Mansion.
Prosecutors say the BNG, formed after the April 2021 murder of 15-year-old Namir Johnson, also known as “Naddy,” terrorized much of the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood in North Philadelphia for years.
Assistant District Attorney Joe Lannuti cited the case of Jamil McCoy, killed on Jan. 2, 2022, in the area of 2500 North 28th Street, during an attempted carjacking of his vehicle.
“The motives for these shootings were varied, but BNG members sought money, vehicles — but above all, they sought notoriety,” said Lannuti. “They wanted a reputation for being violent and dangerous.”
Another case cited was that of Chaundra Jones, a Delaware County mother of two, who was shot along with two of her friends on Sept. 29, 2021.
Jahlil Williams, Sutton, Brunson-Gans, Soto, Nakye Williams, Henry, and Davis are charged with Jones’ murder and the attempted murder of the two other women wounded in the attack.
The grand jury further alleges that:
— Brunson-Gans, Soto and Sutton were involved in the death of Jordan Murray, 19, on Sept. 6, 2021, shot 16 times on the 2200 block of West Huntingdon Street.
— Brunson-Gans and Sutton were involved in the attempted murder of one person, shot several times on Sept. 5, 2021, on the 3100 block of North Judson Street.
— Soto, Sutton, Henry and Hayes were involved in the murder of Jerrick Jenkins, 33, on Sept. 18, 2021, on the 2900 block of West York Street.
— Nakye Williams and Davis were involved in the non-fatal shooting of someone at a candlelight vigil for another homicide victim on Oct. 10, 2021, on the 2600 block of North 22nd Street.
Federal prosecutors sometimes pick up larger gang violence indictments, but some of these shootings may have happened when members were juveniles, which prohibits a federal prosecution.
Despite that, the District Attorney’s Office is charging all of the defendants as adults.