11 members and associates of Folk Nation Gangster Disciples charged with multiple shootings and gun-related offenses in Brooklyn | USAO-EDNY

An indictment replacing 20 counts was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn, charging Oluwagbenga Agoro, Lorenzo Bailey, Quincy Battice, Davon Brown, Hans Destine, Jean Fremont, Ricardo Hepburn, McKoy Lima, Triston Lawrence, Deryck Thompson and Michael Williams of violent racketeering crimes in order to help him, including attempted murder and firearms offenses. As alleged in the indictment, the accused are members and associates of the Folk Nation Gangster Disciples, also known as “GD”. Bailey, Destine, Fremont and Thompson are the leaders of the No Love City (“NLC”) subset of GD, Destine and Fremont serving on the five-member “steering committee” of the NLC – its highest executive. Additionally, during the execution of the search warrants this morning, investigators recovered three firearms from Destine’s residence, one firearm from Lawrence’s residence, one from Thompson’s residence, and one from the residence. from Bailey, Georgia.

Destine, Fremont, Hepburn, Lawrence, Lima, Thompson and Williams were arrested this morning in Brooklyn and should be brought to justice this afternoon before US magistrate Sanket J. Bulsara. Bailey and Battice were arrested this morning in Atlanta, Georgia, and are scheduled to be brought to trial this afternoon before U.S. investigating magistrate Catherine M. Salinas at the Federal Courthouse in Atlanta. Agoro and Brown were already in federal custody on previous charges and will be brought to justice at a later date.

Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Jacqueline Maguire, Acting Deputy Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Eric Gonzalez, District Attorney, Kings County District Attorney’s Office (KCDA) and Dermot F. Shea, commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the arrests and charges.

“As the indictment makes clear, violent street gangs like the Folk Nation Gangster Disciples can commit a shocking amount of violence and inflict a tremendous amount of damage, which endangers entire communities if they don’t. are not being checked, ”Acting United States Prosecutor Kasulis said. “This office and its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners will make every effort to target and prosecute the violent individuals and street gangs who intentionally wreak havoc in our communities by possessing and indiscriminately unloading weapons.” loaded with no regard for human life. Street gangs in Brooklyn should be warned that we will use all available resources to rid our communities of this unnecessary violence. Ms. Kasulis expressed her gratitude to the FBI / NYPD Metro Safe Streets Task Force, the NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for their outstanding work and assistance in this investigation and support. lawsuits.

“Two gang eliminations in the past two days demonstrate our commitment to prosecute violent criminals who choose to terrorize our communities,” FBI Acting Deputy Director Maguire said. “The litany of crimes we allege in this case is indicative of the fear and frustration facing far too many communities in New York City. Our work through the FBI / NYPD Metro Safe Streets Task Force will continue unabated until residents can feel safe again. “

“This significant pullout is part of our multi-pronged strategy and continues to focus on the most violent offenders in our community, who are largely responsible for the surge in shootings we saw last summer. With today’s arrests, the leaders of a dangerous street gang have been incapacitated, which I think will have a positive impact on public safety in Brooklyn. I am grateful to the United States Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the NYPD, and my prosecutors for their outstanding work in this investigation. We will continue to work together in partnership and use all law enforcement resources at our disposal to help reduce gun violence and gangs, ”KCDA Gonzalez said.

“Targeting and dismantling gangs and teams, and preventing the violence so often associated with their illegal activities, continues to be a top priority for the NYPD and our law enforcement partners. We remain relentless in our efforts to identify, arrest and prosecute anyone who engages in violence on our streets, ”said Shea, NYPD Commissioner.

As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, the charges relate to seven non-fatal shootings in Brooklyn during 2020 in which six people were injured.

The shooting of March 14, 2020

As alleged, on March 14, 2020, Brown was involved in shooting a victim for perceived disrespect towards GD. An individual with the victim threw a drink inside the Gold Room Restaurant and Lounge in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, splashing a person standing with Brown. An argument ensued and the victim, a member of the Crips gang, held up a gang sign known as “drop the rake” – a gesture intended to be insulting to GD. The argument continued outside the bar where Brown held up a gun and fired a shot into the air. Brown then handed the gun to an accomplice who walked behind the victim and shot him in the buttocks at close range. The gun was recovered by law enforcement and Brown’s DNA was found on the gun.

The shooting of July 24, 2020

As alleged, on July 24, 2020, Michael Williams was involved in the shooting of two individuals in Prospect Park South. The previous evening, a member of GD had been shot and Williams and others took him to hospital. After leaving the hospital, Williams and other GD members retaliated against the Crips gang by going to a neighborhood in Brooklyn they believed to be Crip’s territory where Williams and another gunman opened fire on a crowd of people, injuring two victims in the knee and in the chest. .

The shooting of August 2, 2020

On August 2, 2020, Lawrence reportedly shot a member of the Crips gang in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Prior to the shooting, the target of the shooting had passed through part of Prospect Lefferts Gardens known as GD territory while posting on Instagram Live mocking GD. Immediately after the shooting, Lawrence sent an encrypted message to Brown using the encrypted Telegram app indicating that he had just “exploded” on the intended target.

The November 2020 shoots

As alleged, on November 7 and 9, 2020, Agoro, Bailey, Battice, Destine, Fremont, Hepburn, Lima and Thompson engaged in four separate drive-by shootings in Canarsie, Prospect Park South and Brownsville, in which three victims were killed. injured. In the first shootout on November 7, Agoro, Bailey, Battice, Fremont and Thompson traveled to Canarsie, where they shot a group of individuals. The defendants then returned to Thompson’s residence, before leaving for a second shootout in Canarsie, in which two individuals were injured in the legs. On November 9, 2020, Agoro, Destine, Hepburn and Thompson traveled to Prospect Park South, where they shot a group of individuals but did not hit anyone. Later that same day, Agoro, Fremont, Hepburn, Lima and Thompson traveled to Brownsville for another shootout, where a victim was hit in the shoulder and grazed in the back.

These indictments are part of a coordinated effort to dismantle the Brooklyn sets of GD and their leadership by federal and state authorities, including the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the KCDA , the Joint FBI-NYPD Safe Streets Task Force, and the NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division. As part of the federal-state initiative, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the KCDA have filed multiple lawsuits against members and associates of GD.

The charges in the indictments are allegations, and the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted under the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program that has been shown to be effective in reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a wide range of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses its enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with local prevention and reintegration programs for sustainable crime reduction.

The government’s case is handled by the Organized Crime and Gangs Section of the Bureau. US Deputy Prosecutors Jonathan Siegel and Kayla C. Bensing as well as US Special Assistant Prosecutors Gillian DiPietro and James Slattery are in charge of the prosecution.

The defendants:

OLUWAGBENGA AGORO (also known as “Gee Banga”)
Age: 21 years old
Brooklyn, New York

LORENZO BAILEY (also known as “Renzo” and “St. Clair Bailey”)
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

QUINCY BATTICE (also known as “Hush Dinero” and “George Ayala”)
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

DAVON BROWN (also known as “Chico Dinero”)
Age: 27 years old
Brooklyn, New York

HANS DESTINE (also known as “YL Flocks”)
Age: 30 years old
Brooklyn, New York

JEAN FREMONT (also known as “Juno” and “Bigga Twirl”)
Age: 30 years old
Brooklyn, New York

RICARDO HEPBURN (also known as “Riko Floxks”)
Age: 19
Brooklyn, New York

TRISTON LAWRENCE (also known as “Birdy Flock”)
Age: 27 years old
Brooklyn, New York

McKOY LIMA (also known as “Mak”)
Age: 26
Brooklyn, New York

DERYCK THOMPSON (also known as “Benzo”, “DBenzo” and “Kenzie”)
Age: 22
Brooklyn, New York

MICHAEL WILLIAMS (also known as “Mikey Floxks” and “Mikey Gzz”)
Age: 19
Brooklyn, New York

EDNY File # 20-CR-293 (S-1) (WFK)