Fugitive Gang Leader Arrested For Two Murders

Earlier today, a four-count indictment was unsealed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Nicholas Washington, also known as “Nicholas Hayes” and “Face,” with the 2005 murder of Steven Negron and the 2006 murder of Andrell Napper.  The indictment was returned under seal by a federal grand jury sitting in Brooklyn on May 7, 2014.

The charges were announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).

As detailed in the indictment and a detention memorandum filed by the government, Washington was a leader of the “G’z Up” gang, which operated in and around the Marcy Houses public housing development in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.  G’z Up members and associates earned money by trafficking in crack-cocaine and firearms in Brooklyn, upstate New York and Pennsylvania, and committed acts of violence to protect their enterprise.

In 2005, Washington allegedly planned the murder of a rival drug supplier and directed two G’z Up members to carry out the crime.  Those G’z Up members shot at the rival gang member but instead struck and killed Negron, who was standing nearby. 

In 2006, Washington allegedly planned a second murder.  The intended victim was a rival gang member who Washington believed was responsible for the murder of Washington’s brother.  Washington and other members and associates of G’z Up located the target, and two of Washington’s associates opened fire.  Napper, who was not the intended target, was instead struck and killed.

Two days after Washington was indicted he learned of the federal charges, evaded arrest, and was a fugitive for more than two years.  On May 21, 2016, New York City Police Officers arrested him in connection with a non-fatal shooting that occurred in Brooklyn on May 9, 2014.  Washington is currently charged in New York Supreme Court, Kings County, with attempted murder and other crimes based on that shooting.  On October 19, 2016, Washington was taken into federal custody.

“Nicholas Washington’s days as a fugitive are over.  He will now face charges for the two murders he ordered that tragically resulted in the deaths of two bystanders,” stated United States Attorney Capers.  “The message here is clear – we will be dogged in our pursuit of violent gang members who commit senseless and cowardly acts of violence and will not let the passage of time deter us from bringing them to justice.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney stated, “When gang members start pulling the trigger on their weapons, they’re not worried about the collateral damage they inflict.  In this case, two innocent people were murdered for just simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The suspect here thought he was smarter than law enforcement by evading arrest, but his continued alleged criminal behavior landed him in custody where he will face justice.” 

The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn.  The charges announced today are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Allon Lifshitz and Melody Wells. 

The Defendant:

Nicholas Washington
Age:  32
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-266 (ILG)