Bailey Boys Gang Member Charged in 2012 Martin Luther King Park Murder of One Person, Wounding of Four

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury in Buffalo has charged Tariq Brown, 20, with the May 12, 2012 shooting at Martin Luther King Park that left Marquay Lee dead and four other individuals wounded. Two of the injured persons suffered permanent injuries: one victim is now a paraplegic, and another was blinded in one eye.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce, who is handling the prosecution of this case, the charges are contained in a fourth superseding indictment in the ongoing investigation into the Bailey Boys, a violent criminal gang operating on Buffalo’s East Side. Brown is alleged to be a member of the Bailey Boys Gang, which operates in an area of the city bounded by Winspear Avenue, the Kensington Expressway, Eggert Road, and Main Street. Defendant Brown already stands accused of three other attempted murders which injured two people.

Today’s charges carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of the death penalty.

Based on this latest superseding indictment, Bailey Boys members now stand accused of four murders and 14 attempted murders, including four drive-by shootings. The attempted murders include a shooting that occurred during a neighborhood party with numerous children present and a shooting that occurred during a robbery. To date, two defendants have been convicted.

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., stated, “The fact that these violent events occurred in a park named after one of our most prominent advocates of peace and non-violence should certainly not be lost on the public. Keeping in mind Dr. King’s belief once warned that ‘our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,’ this office will continue to prosecute those who commit violence upon the streets of our community.”

“Since the night of this incident, the Buffalo Division Safe Streets Task Force [SSTF] has worked tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to identify and bring to justice the person responsible for this extremely violent act,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel. “Through the collaborative efforts of our law enforcement partners, the Buffalo Division/SSTF remains committed to dismantling the most violent street gangs operating in Western New York.”

“This has been an intense investigation from day one that has culminated with a dangerous person now off our streets,” said Buffalo Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda. “For nearly a year, Buffalo Police have worked hand in hand with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI to bring this individual to justice. I want to thank the public for all of the help they provided in solving this case.”

The superseding indictment is the result of an ongoing investigation on the part of the United States Attorney’s Office in close cooperation with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III; the Buffalo Police Department, under direction of Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda;the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy B. Howard; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, New York Field Division; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Frank Christiano. The Safe Streets Task Force includes members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero; the Buffalo Police Department; the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey; the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack; the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Williams; the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police, under the direction of Chief George Gast; the Erie County Sheriff’s Department; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Matthew Renneman; and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Commissioner Brian Fischer.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.