Eight Trey Crips Gang Members Convicted Of Murder Of Federal Informant

Friday afternoon, Maliek Ramsey, also known as “Squinge,” and Rodney Muschette, also known as “Stitch,” were convicted of the 2008 retaliation murder of a federal informant.  Ramsey and Muschette are members of the Eight Trey Crips, a set of the Crips street gang operating in and around Brooklyn, New York, and elsewhere.  When sentenced, they will face mandatory life imprisonment.  

The convictions were announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); James O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD); and George N. Turner, Chief of Police, Atlanta Police Department (APD). 

“The defendants’ actions tore at the fabric of our criminal justice system, a system that relies upon members of the community to notify law enforcement about criminal activity,” stated U.S. Attorney Capers.  “Without the cooperation of all segments of the community – including victims, eyewitnesses, and cooperating witnesses – our system cannot work.”  Mr. Capers extended his grateful appreciation to the FBI Charlotte, NC, Field Office, the FBI Raleigh, NC, Resident Agency, the FBI Atlanta, GA, Field Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina for their assistance. 

“We depend on eyewitnesses for the information that isn’t revealed from forensic evidence, and many times those eyewitnesses are known to the subjects in a case.  The FBI and our law enforcement partners will pursue anyone who threatens witnesses with violence because they were willing to come forward,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.

“In partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Atlanta Police Department has removed another dangerous and violent criminal from Atlanta streets,” said Atlanta Police Chief Turner.”  Muschette and Ramsey mercilessly took the life of Mr. Nashwad Johnson and those actions will not go unpunished.  The Atlanta Police Department is committed to cracking down on criminal activity and individuals that threaten the safety and quality of life for Atlanta residents and visitors.”

On December 30, 2008, the leader of the Eight Trey Crips was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court to 110 months’ imprisonment based on his conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon in connection with a June 2005 shooting in Brooklyn, New York.  Fellow gang member Nashwad Johnson, also known as “Nash,” had witnessed that shooting.  At the leader’s sentencing proceeding, he stated his belief that Johnson was a federal informant, and he later made sure that the message was communicated to other gang members.  The leader’s sister told him that everyone in the gang was “all messed up” about the news, and, in particular, she told him that defendant Ramsey – who was in England at that time – was crying and thought it was his fault.  The afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Muschette and Ramsey spoke for 20 minutes to iron out their murder plan, and Ramsey ordered Muschette to shoot Johnson. 

At or around the time of that sentencing, Muschette and other members of the gang traveled with Johnson from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Atlanta, Georgia.  Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve in 2008 – one day after the leader was sentenced – Muschette and others carried out their plan to kill Johnson because they believed that he had provided information to federal law enforcement about their gang. Muschette and his coconspirators drove Johnson to a wooded area off an Atlanta highway.  There, Muschette shot Johnson eleven times, including five shots in Johnson’s back, ending his life.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geddes and Patrick T. Hein are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

MALIEK RAMSEY, also known as “Squinge”
Age: 36

RODNEY MUSCHETTE, also known as “Stitch”
Age: 35

E.D.N.Y. Docket No.  15-CR-525 (ERK)