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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice today obtained an indictment charging
the leader and 18 alleged members and associates
of the Nine Trey Headbustas set of the Bloods
gang.
According
to Director Taylor, the 42-count state grand
jury indictment charges 19 defendants with
first-degree racketeering, including Michael
Anderson, 38, who allegedly led the gang
from New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.
The indictment charges three men –
Syree Hakins, Davon Parker and Tyrane Mathis
– with murder in the fatal shooting
of gang member Devin Thompson, in New Brunswick
on June 2, 2008. They are charged with attempted
murder for allegedly shooting Thompson’s
friend Christopher Whitsett in the back.
He survived. The indictment supersedes a
prior indictment related to the murder.
The
racketeering charge carries a sentence of
up to 20 years in prison. Anderson and Hakins
are also charged in separate counts with
promoting organized street crime, which
carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years in
prison. The indictment alleges that between
July 2005 and November 2009, the defendants
committed and conspired to commit crimes
for the gang, including murder, robbery,
aggravated assault, weapons offenses, witness
tampering, money laundering and possession
and/or distribution of cocaine, heroin,
ecstasy and marijuana. The criminal activities
extended into Mercer, Hudson, Essex, Passaic,
Camden and Cumberland Counties.
The
indictment stems from “Operation Hardhat,”
an investigation that began in 2007 and
was conducted by the New Jersey Department
of Corrections Special Investigation Division,
the State Police Street Gang North Unit,
the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs &
Organized Crime Bureau, the Middlesex County
Prosecutor’s Office and the New Brunswick
Police Department, with the assistance of
numerous other law enforcement agencies.
Anderson and 17 other defendants were initially
charged by complaint warrant in April 2010.
“This
is the second major indictment we have brought
against Anderson for allegedly directing
the criminal activities of the Nine Trey
Headbustas from New Jersey State Prison,”
said Attorney General Dow. “Just last
week, he pleaded guilty to leading a narcotics
trafficking network in Camden, a plea that
will mean he will serve at least another
10 years in prison without parole. Once
again, through this new indictment, he faces
very serious charges.”
“The
Division of Criminal Justice will continue
to work with the State Police and Department
of Corrections to target gang leaders who
seek to generate crime and violence in our
communities from behind bars,” said
Director Taylor. “In August, we had
seven years added to the 30-year murder
sentence being served by David “Duke”
Allen, the leader of the Nine Trey Gangsters
set of the Bloods, because he attempted
to lead his gang from New Jersey State Prison.”
“Communications
between jailed gang leaders and members
on the street will continue to be disrupted
as police and Corrections fight this battle
together. Cooperation among agencies at
the state and local levels will isolate
people such as Anderson, and relegate them
to the status of former gang leaders,”
said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent
of the New Jersey State Police.
“Congratulations
to Attorney General Dow, Director Taylor
and the Division of Criminal Justice for
obtaining this indictment,” said Commissioner
Gary M. Lanigan of the Department of Corrections.
“It is a clear indication that Governor
Christie's administration and, indeed, the
entire law enforcement community remains
unified in working to curb illegal gang
activities.”
Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Lauren Scarpa Yfantis
presented the case to the state grand jury
for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs
& Organized Crime Bureau.
Anderson
holds the title of “Godfather”
as the highest ranking member of this faction
of the Bloods. Anderson is incarcerated
in New Jersey State Prison on a sentence
for death by auto and eluding police. The
investigation revealed that he directed
and supervised gang activities outside the
prison. Anderson communicated with gang
members on the outside by means of multi-party
phone calls in which he would give orders
to subordinates.
Anderson
allegedly controlled the distribution of
narcotics, dictated promotions of members,
and directed that “discipline,”
including acts of violence, be meted out
against members who went against his rule.
He also demanded that money be collected
from members to keep his prison phone account
active. Several counts of the indictment
charged acts of violence or planned acts
of violence allegedly directed by Anderson
as discipline against gang members or associates,
including defendants named in this case.
Last
Friday, Oct. 29, Anderson pleaded guilty
in Superior Court in Camden to a first-degree
charge of leading a narcotics trafficking
network, which was contained in a prior
indictment obtained by the Division of Criminal
Justice in 2008. He admitted that he led
a narcotics ring in Camden, where the Nine
Trey Headbustas set was dealing large quantities
of heroin in the Broadway Avenue business
district, and on Stevens and Benson Streets.
The state will recommend that he be sentenced
to 20 years in prison, including 10 without
possibility of parole. That plea does not
address the charges filed against Anderson
in the indictment returned today.
At
one point, detectives working on Operation
Hardhat obtained intelligence that enabled
state troopers and Jersey City Police to
prevent an armed robbery allegedly planned
by Nine Trey Headbustas members Darryl Gilbert,
Terriek Hammonds, and Teisha Boundurant.
They were stopped on Aug. 29, 2008 in a
stolen car and allegedly were in possession
of a double barrel, sawed-off shotgun and
a black facemask. The indictment charges
them with conspiracy, weapons offenses and
receiving stolen property in that incident.
A fourth defendant, Dorean Wheeler, is also
charged in the conspiracy.
Attorney
General Dow commended these agencies for
conducting the investigation:
- New
Jersey Department of Corrections Special
Investigation Division
- New
Jersey State Police
- Division
of Criminal Justice
- Middlesex
County Prosecutor’s Office
- Hudson
County Prosecutor’s Office
- Essex
County Prosecutor’s office
- Jersey
City Police Department
- Newark
Police Department
- New
Brunswick Police Department
- Paterson
Police Department
The
following defendants are charged in the
indictment:
- Michael
Anderson, 38, New Jersey State Prison,
Trenton;
- Ashley
Cupparo, 32, of Lindenwold;
- Syree
Hakins, 38, of West Orange;
- Teisha
Boundurant, 30, of Irvington;
- Tyrane
Mathis, 34, Newark;
- Darryl
Gilbert, 39, of East Orange;
- Larry
Garretson, 32, of Newark;
- Lawrence
Smith, 27 (Hudson County Jail);
- Karin
Smith, 41, of Jersey City;
- David
Colon, 32, of Passaic;
- Dorean
Wheeler, 34, of Jersey City;
- Davon
Parker, 22, of Edison;
- Quaheem
Johnson, 25, of Jersey City;
- Anthony
Anderson, 22, of Newark;
- Terriek
Hammonds, 30, of Newark;
- Ronald
Brown, 34, of Jersey City;
- Larry
Johnson, 37, of Jersey City;
- Terrell
Williams, 21, of Bayonne; and
- Shevawn
Taylor, 24, of Rahway.
The
indictment charges first-, second- and third-degree
crimes. The first-degree charge of promoting
organized street crime carries a sentence
of 15 to 30 years in state prison. The other
first-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of 20 years in state prison. The first-degree
charges also carry a fine of up to $200,000,
with the exception of the money laundering
charge, which carries a fine of up to $500,000.
Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine,
while third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000
fine.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Hudson County.
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