PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — District Attorney Larry Krasner says three members of a gang that terrorized the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood for years have pleaded guilty to murder and shooting charges.
Authorities say Dontae Sutton, Jamir Brunson-Gans and Elijah Soto were all part of the “Big Naddy Gang” (BNG), which formed after the April 2021 murder of 15-year-old Namir Johnson, also known as “Naddy.” They say in September 2021, the three were promised $10,000 in a murder-for-hire shooting.
Assistant District Attorney Joe Lanuti says there was a miscommunication between the lookouts and the shooters. The group ended up following the wrong car and fired at least 49 shots at it. Inside were three women, including Chaundrah Jones, who had just left a birthday celebration. Jones, a Delaware County mother of two, died. Her two friends were injured.
It wasn’t until the next day they realized they had opened fire on the wrong people.
Officials charged Sutton, Brunson-Gans and Soto with her murder, as well as the murder of Jordan Murray on Sept. 6, 2021, who was shot nine times on West Huntingdon Street over what investigators determined was a dispute on Instagram.
They pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in both shootings and will each spend decades in prison.
Sutton and Soto were also implicated in the murder of Jerrick Jenkins on Sept. 18, 2021, on West York Street.
Authorities say the trio, along with several other members, was responsible for multiple shootings and carjackings from 2021 to 2022.
Over the summer, other BNG members and some people in a subset group were indicted. They are still waiting for a day in court.