Earlier today, following five weeks of trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, returned guilty verdicts against Christian John and Marvin Johnson. John was the leader of a violent criminal enterprise called the “Hull Street Crew,” that was found to be responsible for six murders, two attempted murder, armed robberies, murder-for-hire, narcotics distribution, and gambling on dog fighting, all of which occurred in the Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and East New York areas of Brooklyn. Johnson committed a brutal murder with John that the jury found to have aided the criminal enterprise. When sentenced by United States Senior District Judge Frederic Block, both defendants face mandatory life sentences.

The verdicts were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.

United States Attorney Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding assistance in this case.

Christian John was found guilty of the 2000 murder of Charlemagne Lormand, the 2008 murder of Barry Haynes, the 2008 murder of Daquane Shelton and the 2011 murders of Jason Bostic and Aaron Formey. Both defendants were found guilty of the 2006 murder of Earle Kevin Obermuller. During the Obermuller murder, the defendants lured the victim to an abandoned building where they duct taped his entire head and watched him suffocate to death. The defendants then set him on fire. During the 2011 murders of Jason Bostic and Aaron Formey, the defendant Christian John ordered his crew members to bind the victims with duct tape and to kill them. Among his many other crimes, Christian John was also found guilty of assaulting a crew member by tying him up and pouring scalding water over his body.

The government’s case was prosecuted by Celia A. Cohen, Soumya Dayananda, and Robert T. Polemeni.

The Defendants:

• CHRISTIAN KESTON JOHN
• Age: 30
• Brooklyn, N.Y.

• MARVIN JOHNSON
• Age: 30
• Brooklyn, N.Y.