Leaders and Members of Outlaw Gangsta Crips and Shoota Gang Sentenced to Up to 210 Months’ Imprisonment

Yesterday, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Lenard Barletto, a member of the Outlaw Gangsta Crips (“OGC”) and the Shoota Gang, was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and conspiracy to murder two gang rivals.  Barletto pleaded guilty to the charges in June 2018.  He is the final gang member to be sentenced in this case, in which 23 defendants, including the gangs’ leaders, were charged and convicted of racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy, attempted murder, narcotics trafficking conspiracy and bank fraud, among other crimes.  The sentencing proceedings were held before United States District Judge William F. Kuntz II.

Richard P. Donoghue, 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), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentences.

“With Outlaw Gangsta Crips and Shoota Gang leaders and members now serving well-deserved prison terms, the East Flatbush community is a much safer place,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “We warn all violent street gang members, in no uncertain terms, to expect a similar fate for menacing our communities.”

“Violent street gangs, and the crews and subsets that splinter off from them, remain a focus of law enforcement wherever their illegal trade in narcotics and brutal rivalries threaten the safety of our city’s neighborhoods and residents,” stated NYPD Commissioner O’Neill.  “We applaud our federal partners for working together in this case to eradicate a criminal franchise and ensure justice for the East Flatbush community with the culmination of this successful prosecution.”

OGC and the Shoota Gang were based in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.  OGC was a violent set of the nationwide Crips street gang, and the Shoota Gang was a local offshoot of OGC that included members of OGC, the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips, the Bosses in Business (“BIB”) and the Bloods.  Between August 9, 2013 and May 12, 2015, members of OGC and the Shoota Gang committed multiple acts of violence, sold drugs and guns, committed robberies and bank fraud and promoted prostitution.  Among the crimes of conviction were the following:

Attempted Murder

On June 3, 2014, Conell Brogdon, a leader of both OGC and the Shoota Gang, and Malik Campbell, a member of the Bloods and the Shoota Gang, attempted to murder a victim identified as John Doe #1.  Brogdon, Campbell and three other Shoota Gang members surrounded John Doe #1 inside the Big Boy Deli on Nostrand Avenue and attempted to steal his necklace.  During the confrontation, Brogdon handed Campbell a gun, and Campbell shot John Doe #1, who survived.

Murder Conspiracy

In January 2014, OGC member Kareem Mitchell, also known as “Pop,” was murdered, and OGC and the Shoota Gang believed BIB was responsible.  In a series of phone calls intercepted pursuant to judicially authorized wiretaps, Parris Desuze, a leader of both OGC and the Shoota Gang, and Lenard Barletto and Courtney Coy, both members of OGC and the Shoota Gang, confirmed that they had firearms and would meet at the location identified by Solomon Artis, another OGC member, to attack two BIB members.  The plan was thwarted by FBI agents and NYPD detectives monitoring the wiretaps, and Artis, Barleto, Coy and Desuze were arrested.  Subsequently, co-conspirator Andre Holman, a member of the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips, was also arrested.

Assault

On July 19, 2014, Cordero Passley, a member of the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips and associate of OGC, assaulted and stabbed a victim on Lenox Road.  The confrontation began when Passley ordered a woman to stop playing a song recorded by an alleged rival gang member and rapper.  When the victim defended the woman, Passley and others attacked him.

Drug Trafficking

Between August 9, 2013 and May 12, 2015, members of OGC and the Shoota gang conspired to sell crack cocaine in Brooklyn, Connecticut, West Virginia and elsewhere.

Bank Fraud Conspiracy

Between January 6, 2014 and January 20, 2015, members and associates of OGC, and members of the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips, conspired to defraud Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and TD Bank.  The conspirators obtained paychecks issued to others and used the information on the checks to create fraudulent checks that appeared to be written by business entities.  Those checks were then deposited into bank accounts, and the deposits were promptly withdrawn.

Convictions and Sentences

• Conell Brogdon, a leader of both OGC and the Shoota Gang, was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of attempted murder and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
   
• Parris Desuze, a leader of both OGC and the Shoota Gang, was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
   
• Lenard Barletto, a member of both OGC and the Shoota Gang, was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
   
• Malik Campbell, a member of the Bloods and the Shoota Gang, was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of attempted murder and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
   
• Courtney Coy, a high-ranking member of both OGC and the Shoota Gang, was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
   
• Solomon Artis, a member of OGC, was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
   
• Steven Cherenfant, Stanley Cherenfant and Stephon Rene, brothers and members of the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips and the Shoota Gang, were sentenced to 135, 121 and 121 months’ imprisonment, respectively, for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine with OGC.
   
• Aikiam Floyd, a member of the Bloods and the Shoota Gang, was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine with OGC.
   
• Andre Holman, a member of the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips and associate of OGC, was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to murder.
   
• Cordero Passley, a member of the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips and an associate of OGC, was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment for assault in aid of racketeering.

The government’s case was handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Allon Lifshitz is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant Sentenced Yesterday:

LENARD BARLETTO
Age:  31
Brooklyn, New York

Defendants Previously Sentenced:

SOLOMON ARTIS
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New York

DERRICK BIENAIME
Age: 24
Brooklyn, New York

CONELL BROGDON
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

DAVON BROWN
Age: 21
Brooklyn, New York

MALIK CAMPBELL
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

STANLEY CHERENFANT
Age: 24
Brooklyn, New York

STEVEN CHERENFANT
Age: 28
Brooklyn, New York

COURTNEY COY
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

PARRIS DESUZE
Age: 31
Brooklyn, New York

BRANDON GREENIDGE
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New York

CORY HARRIS
Age: 41
Brooklyn, New York

JAMAR HARRY
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New York

ANDRE HOLMAN
Age: 31
Brooklyn, New York

JEFFREY JOSEPH
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New York

SILBERT NICHOLSON
Age: 27
Brooklyn, New York

CORDERO PASSLEY
Age: 25
Brooklyn, New York

GABRIEL PATTERSON
Age: 24
Brooklyn, New York

STEPHON RENE
Age: 23
Brooklyn, New York

AKEEM WATSON
Age: 27
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-287 (S-1) (WFK)