U.S. Attorney: NYPD, Feds Dismantle Violent Subset Of Crips Gang, ‘Ending Reign Of Terror In East Flatbush’

Twenty alleged gang members who are accused of terrorizing the East Flatbush area with robberies, shootouts and more were arrested in a takedown by the NYPD and federal authorities, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.

The 20 individuals, all of whom are from Brooklyn and most of whom are in their 20s, allegedly were members or associates of the Outlaw Gangsta Crips (OGC) — a subset of the Crips street gang that operated out of East Flatbush. They were charged with a wide range of crimes, including racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy, attempted murder, bank fraud, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses, federal and city officials said. The charges were part of a 75-count indictment unsealed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York today.

The alleged gang members are charged with crimes committed in New York, Connecticut, and West Virginia between August 9, 2013 and May 12, 2015, officials said.

“This prosecution effectively ends OGC’s reign of terror over East Flatbush,” Acting United States Attorney Kelly Currie said in a press release. “We are committed to dismantling these criminal gangs and making our communities safe.”

According to officials, OGC was based in and around the East Flatbush area and comprised a subgroup of the Crips street gang that included an offshoot known as Shoota Gang — which in turn included members and associates of OGC, as well as members of other gangs, including the Eight Trey Gangsta Crips, Bosses In Business, and the Bloods.

We do not yet know if the 20 individuals arrested today are connected to the recent murders and shootings that have happened in our area. Following the two fatal shootings in our neighborhood this week, Borough President Eric Adams told us last night that, “Brooklyn has a gang problem,” though he stressed that he did not know if the recent crime in our neighborhood was related to gangs.
“We can’t continue to ignore we have a gang problem,” the borough president said in the same interview.

Among the crimes that the 20 people arrested today are charged with include:

• Conspiring to break into and rob at gunpoint a check-cashing store at 1446 Nostrand Avenue, by Church Avenue. According to federal officials, they allegedly began cutting a hole in the ceiling above the check-cashing business and planned to enter the store during the day and force an employee at gunpoint to open the safe. The plan was thwarted when an employee noticed damage to the ceiling, officials said.

• Shooting two people in front of 1404 Nostrand Avenue, by Linden Boulevard, in “an ongoing dispute with rivals of OGC,” officials said.

• Attempting to murder a man inside of the Big Boy Deli at 1452 Nostrand Avenue, by Church Avenue.

• Assaulting and stabbing a victim in front of 116 Lenox Road, by Bedford Avenue. According to officials, the incident began when one man allegedly ordered a woman to stop playing a song by a rival gang member. When a man defended the woman, the several of the people arrested allegedly attacked him, sending him to the hospital.

• Profiting from narcotics trafficking and bank fraud that defrauded Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and TD Bank. The schemes allegedly caused losses in excess of $500,000, officials said.

Numerous city officials praised today’s arrests.

“The members of OGC and their associates allegedly operated their violent gang on the streets of Brooklyn and beyond the borders of New York City, but with these arrests and indictments we send a message – the NYPD and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to bring you to justice and remove you from our communities,” NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said in a press release.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson echoed this sentiment.

“With this indictment, we are returning the streets of East Flatbush to the people of East Flatbush – who should not have to live in the midst of gun violence, murder plots, and drug dealing,” Thompson said.

For more information about today’s arrests, as well as for the names of the 20 individuals arrested, you can go here.