Major Raid In Neighborhood Ends With 15 Arrested For Narcotics Trafficking; One Charged With Newkirk Avenue Murder: DA
A year-long investigation into drugs and violence in our neighborhood resulted in a major raid yesterday, August 5, in which police arrested 15 people for narcotics trafficking, as well as one teenager for the murder on Newkirk Avenue and E. 17th Street last month, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson announced this afternoon.
The 15 people arrested — almost all of whom lived in our neighborhood, including on Newkirk Avenue, E. 21st, E. 22nd and E. 23rd Streets — were caught after allegedly selling crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana to undercover officers over the past year, the DA said. The year-long investigation was focused around a seven-block radius in our community, from Bedford Avenue to E. 21st Street and Foster Avenue to Ditmas Avenue, according to Thompson.
During the bust, Oshane Fyffe, 18, of E. 21st Street, was also arrested and charged with fatally shooting Adetunji Ajakaye, who was killed while sitting in a car at Newkirk Avenue and E. 17th Street in July, the DA said. Fyffe allegedly shot Ajakaye in retaliation for a July 13 incident in which Migly Jean-Jacquez, 18, allegedly shot and killed Harold Abodia, according to the DA. Jean-Jacquez was recently arrested and charged with second-degree murder, among other charges, police said.
“These arrests underscore our determination to reclaim our streets from drug dealers and other criminals who endanger the safety and degrade the quality of life of our communities,” Thompson said in a press release. “Gun-related street violence puts everyone at risk and has left two young men dead.”
In the same press release, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton praised the police department’s Brooklyn South Narcotics Division and the DA’s office for their year-long investigation, which launched in August 2014 following community complaints about drug trafficking and violence in the 67th and 70th precincts.
Over the course of the investigation, undercover officers made approximately 100 purchases of crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana, Thompson said. During the July 5 bust, police recovered a .9-mm Beretta, as well as an unspecified quantity of crack cocaine, marijuana and heroin, officials reported.
In addition to Fyffe, the individuals who were arrested were: Barbara Capers of Newkirk Avenue, Egobeda James, of E. 22nd Street, Hayden Flemming of Newkirk Avenue, Walter Stewart of Newkirk Avenue, Jeffrey Raymond of E. 22nd Street, Thomas Jones of E. 22nd Street, Shawn Hazel of E. 23rd Street, Rayshawn Jones of E. 38th Street, Nancy Negron aka Lebron of Newkirk Avenue, Paolo Alfaro-Barber of Flatbush Avenue, Sheldon Flemming of Newkirk Avenue, Jasmine Luzicourt of E. 22nd Street, Jermaine Luzincourt of E. 22nd Street, and Rafael Marrero of Bedford Avenue.
The 15 defendants are presently awaiting arraignment on multiple criminal complaints in Brooklyn Criminal Court. They have been variously charged with conspiracy, criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal sale of marijuana, and unlawful possession of marijuana, the DA said.