Three Members of the Bloods Street Gang Plead Guilty in New Jersey to Racketeering Conspiracy

NEWARK, NJ—Three more Bloods members from Newark and Paterson, N.J., have admitted to a range of violent crimes and conspiring to distribute narcotics as part of a racketeering conspiracy in furtherance of the gang’s activities, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Ricky Coleman, a/k/a “Pool Stick,” a/k/a “Sticks,” 38, of Newark; Antwon Breedlove, a/k/a “Haywire,” 32, of Newark; and Michael McCloud, a/k/a “Ike Brim,” 26, of Paterson, each pleaded guilty to one count of a second superseding Indictment filed against them in January 2011, which charged them with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act. Coleman and Breedlove entered their guilty pleas today before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court; McCloud entered his plea before Judge Chesler on Tuesday, August 16, 2011.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Coleman, a member of the Brick City Brims (“BCB”)—a subset of the Fruit Town Brims (“FTB”) set of the Bloods—admitted that he conspired with BCB leader Altariq Gumbs while Gumbs was in an Arizona state prison to sell narcotics in Newark. Coleman acknowledged he sold heroin to a confidential informant on four occasions from October 2008 through March 2009. Gumbs pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge in July 2011, and awaits sentencing. Breedlove, also a BCB member, admitted that he conspired with Coleman in May and June 2009. Breedlove stated that one of the purposes of the conspiracy was to send the proceeds of the sale to a ranking member of the FTB and BCB who was incarcerated in Newark’s Northern State Prison. Breedlove also admitted in participating in a June 7, 2009, shooting on Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City, N.J., which was in retaliation for a disagreement over narcotics proceeds. The victim of that shooting, identified in court as “M.S.,” was hit in the leg and survived the shooting.

McCloud, an FTB member, admitted to selling crack cocaine to an undercover officer on August 30, 2006, together with two other members of the gang. McCloud also admitted to participating in two robberies in Paterson in 2006. McCloud was involved in the robbery of a dice game in Paterson, in which a co-conspirator used an AK-47 and the gang members took controlled substances, cell phones, and money. He also conspired with other FTB members to commit a robbery, also involving a gun, in retaliation for the shooting an FTB member by a member of a rival gang.

The racketeering conspiracy count to which Coleman, Breedlove and McCloud each pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. All three defendants are currently scheduled to be sentenced on November 10, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the Direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward—which includes members from the Newark Police Department, East Orange Police Department, Essex County Department of Corrections, Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Jersey City Police Department, the New Jersey Division of Parole, and the Paterson Police Department—along with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Special Investigations Division, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray; and the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa L. Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel:
Breedlove: Joshua Cohn Esq., Saddlebrook, N.J.
Coleman: Peter Willis Esq., Jersey City, N.J.
McCloud: James Patton Esq., Livingston, N.J.