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25 Alleged Gang Members Charged In Connection With Crown Heights Turf War
By
Emma Whitford
Published Aug 3, 2016
Modified Aug 3, 2016
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Aug 3, 2016
Modified Aug 3, 2016
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Twenty-five teenagers and young adults allegedly connected to gangs in Crown Heights were charged in Brooklyn this week. The Brooklyn District Attorney's office said Wednesday that the rival groups, the Lincoln Family and the Bergen Family (which also goes by 2605 on Facebook), were allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Jaquay (Queezy) Bennett outside of his home on St. Mark's Place last January, as well as seven other shootings in the neighborhood since October 2013.
"This murder and several shootings terrorized Crown Heights," said soon-to-be-former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton in a statement Wednesday. Under Bratton's tenure, shootings have hit record lows. "Despite this city being down twenty percent in shootings and in many murders this year alone, there are small areas of violence that still exist," he added.
Investigators said this week that both Lincoln and Bergen members "took credit" for various shootings on social media, and posted photos of themselves in rival territory on Facebook, allegedly to taunt each other.
On January 8th of last year, 18-year-old Laquan Battle of the Lincoln Family allegedly shot and killed 19-year-old Bennett, a member of the Bergen Family who went by Queezy, in front of 769 St. Marks Avenue. Police believe the shooting was an act of retaliation for a shooting a few days prior—according to the criminal complaint, Lesean Carson, now 16 years old, shot and injured a Lincoln Family member in front of 797 Franklin Avenue on January 5th.
Bennett gets shout-outs in the 2605 video below, tagged #FOREVERQUEEZY:
Defendants Isaiah Douglas, 18, Federico Jaen, 19, Linwood Jones, 22, Javon Young, 18, Ebony Brown, 21 and Russell Forest, 18, were charged this week with first-degree conspiracy for allegedly conspiring with Carson.
In a separate incident, on June 2nd, 2014, 18-year-old Ivan Fuentes of the Lincoln Family allegedly biked past members of the Bergen Family in front of 1120 Bergen Street and opened fire, striking one person in the groin.
And as recently as March 10th, several Lincoln Family members allegedly shot at rival Bergen Family members at the corner of Franklin Avenue and President Street, as school let out at nearby Clara Barton High School. The NYPD says that one bullet struck a 13-year-old girl who wasn't affiliated with either gang.
Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson condemned the "mindless gang and gun violence" in a statement Wednesday. "[It] puts so many people at risk, including in this case an innocent 13-year-old girl," he said.
The Lincoln Family lays claim to blocks bordered by Classon Avenue, Prospect Place, Bedford Avenue and Eastern Parkway, according to the DA's office. The Bergen Family, separated from their rivals by a one-block buffer, allegedly claims the blocks bordered by Bergen Street, Kingston Avenue, Park Place and Rogers Avenue.
This week's 67-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, and weapons possession, among others. Supreme Court Justice Joseph P. Sullivan ordered that most of the defendants—all between the ages of 16 and 23—be held without bail ahead of their next court appearance on September 25th.
Three suspects remain at large.
Tagged
brooklyn da
Crown Heights
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murder
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Turf War
Emma Whitford
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