Indictment Charges Members of “Fast Money” and “Nine Block” with 8 Shootings, Including Murder of Dejon McInnis; Three Slashings and Stabbings; 2 Gunpoint Robberies; Other Acts of Violence
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill today announced the indictment of 13 members of two allied Harlem-based gangs, “Fast Money” and “Nine Block,” for engaging in a bloody feud with rival gangs in Harlem beginning in June 2015. The violence alleged in the indictments includes eight shootings with eight shooting victims, as well as slashings, gang assaults, gunpoint robberies, and various weapons-related offenses. The allegations include the murder of 41-year-old Dejon McInnis, who was fatally shot in April 2016.
The indictments charges 83 counts, including Conspiracy in the First Degree, a class A-I felony, as well as Conspiracy in the Second, Third, and Fourth Degrees, Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Gang Assault and Attempted Gang Assault in the First Degrees, Assault in the First and Second Degrees, and various weapons-related charges, among others.[1] The indictment follows an investigation led by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit and the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division.
“The numerous shootings, assaults, and robberies alleged in this indictment illustrate the deadly, downward spiral of retaliatory gang violence,” said District Attorney Vance. “No one was safe from the defendants’ attempts to exact revenge and assert their dominance, including innocent bystanders and NYCHA residents with no involvement in gang activity. Thanks to the NYPD and my Office’s prosecutors, we are stopping this bloody feud in its tracks.”
Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “This gang peddled violence in East Harlem, carrying out gun point robberies, shootings, and assaults, all to protect their turf. The indictment also alleges a homicide from 2016 also in Harlem. I am proud of the work of this Department’s detectives and the prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office whose precision led to today’s 83-count indictment.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, the defendants are members of two allied gangs based between West 155th Street and Harlem River Drive: “Fast Money,” associated with NYCHA’s Polo Grounds Towers, and “Nine Blocks,” also known as “the Nines,” associated with NYCHA’s Rangel Houses.
The defendants allegedly engaged in a bloody rivalry with members of the “2 Deep” gang, associated with NYCHA’s Drew-Hamilton Houses, and members of the “OY” a/k/a “OYG” gang, associated with an area between Amsterdam Avenue and West 151st through West 160th Streets, as well as NYCHA’s AK Houses and Grant Houses. Thirty-seven defendants associated with these gangs were previously charged for acts of violence preceding and coinciding with today’s indictment, including the June 29, 2015, murder of 18-year-old Jordan Barber, who was associated with “Fast Money.”
As alleged in this indictment, beginning on June 30, 2015, the 13 “Fast Money” and “Nine Blocks” defendants sought to avenge Jordan Barber’s death, as well as other acts of violence and perceived disrespect by members of these rival gangs, and to maintain control of their territory. In particular, TAVARES GASTON, 19, TYREKE SINGLETON, 18, and MARQUES MCGEACHY, 18, are charged with Murder in the Second Degree for fatally shooting 41-year-old Dejon McInnis, as part of a spree of violence on April 13 and 14, 2016, surrounding what would have been Jordan Barber’s 19th birthday.
Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendants are charged with eight shootings, three slashings and stabbings, and two gunpoint robberies, in addition to other acts of violence and weapons-related charges.
Assistant District Attorneys Rebecca Dunnan and Andrew Warshawer are prosecuting the cases under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Christopher Ryan, Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit, as well as Executive Assistant District Attorney John Irwin, Chief of the Trial Division. Investigative Analysts Ryan Bacci and Will Andrewes, and Trial Preparation Assistant Damien Quintyne are assisting with the case.
District Attorney Vance thanked the NYPD for its assistance with the investigation, particularly the Gun Violence Suppression Division, including Assistant Chief James Essig, Inspector Richard Green, Captain Brian McCaughey, Lieutenants Richard Zacarese and Paul Predergast, Sergeants Michael Melendez and Darren Melhado, Detectives Julio LaSalle and Harry Arocho, and Police Officer John McFarland; Patrol Bureau Manhattan North, including Deputy Inspector Michael Baker, Captain Christopher Henning, and Detective Tiffany Jeffries; Housing Bureau Manhattan, including Inspector Kieran Creighton and Captain Michael Shugrue; Central Investigations Division, particularly Detective Sarah Koterba; and Firearms Analysis Section, particularly Detective John Fox.
[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court, including the indictments, and statements made on the record in court.
