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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that a state grand jury today
returned an indictment charging 11 members
of the violent Sex Money Murder set of the
Bloods street gang, including the three
top leaders of the set in New Jersey, as
a result of an investigation led by the
New Jersey State Police and the Division
of Criminal Justice.
Five
men, including two of the top leaders, are
charged in the indictment with conspiracy
to commit murder for allegedly plotting
to kill another high-ranking member of the
gang. Sex Money Murder operates under a
hierarchy, through which the leaders, who
hold the rank “Original Gangsters,”
maintain discipline by authorizing the assault
or murder of members who fail to comply
with gang policies. The gang also uses violence
to settle scores with other gangs.
“Today’s
indictment charges the three men who allegedly
ruled this violent set of the Bloods street
gang throughout New Jersey,” said
Attorney General Milgram. “As members
of the gang’s statewide committee,
they had authority to order beatings and
murders to enforce discipline within the
ranks. Taking down the leadership of Sex
Money Murder is the best way to halt the
drug dealing and violence that are this
gang’s stock in trade.”
The
indictment stems from a cooperative investigation
by the New Jersey State Police, Division
of Criminal Justice, State Parole Board,
Passaic County Sheriff’s Department,
Paterson Police Department, Newark Police
Department and New Jersey Department of
Corrections.
Sex
Money Murder has an estimated membership
of 3,000 in New Jersey, reaching into every
county. Last week, the Attorney General
announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice had obtained indictments charging
23 members of Sex Money Murder, including
the two alleged leaders in Mercer County
and the alleged leader in Monmouth and Ocean
counties.
According to Director Paw, today’s
indictment charges all members of the three-person
state leadership committee of Sex Money
Murder with being leaders of organized crime.
Terrence Byrd, 35, of Paterson, Anthony
Carter, 40, of Paterson, and Lorenzo White,
38, of Hackensack, will face up to 10 years
in state prison if convicted of that charge.
Carter,
White and eight other defendants were indicted
on a charge of first-degree racketeering,
which carries a sentence of up to 20 years.
A full list of defendants and charges is
attached, and the indictment is linked to
this press release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
Carter
and White are also charged with first-degree
conspiracy to commit murder, along with
Jermaine Linder, 40, an inmate at Trenton
State Prison, Henry Lopez, 27, an inmate
at Southwoods State Prison, and Leo Reed,
34, an inmate at Northern State Prison.
It is alleged that those five men plotted
to kill two men, one of whom was Narik Wilson.
The second intended victim is identified
in the indictment only by the initials B.T.
Wilson,
23, of Newark, who also is charged in the
indictment, is allegedly an Original Gangster
and a leader of Sex Money Murder operations
in Newark. However, Wilson was allegedly
targeted for murder by the five named defendants
for providing information on another gang
to the Newark Police Department. The State
Police were able, through the investigation,
to prevent the murder from being carried
out. Linder allegedly controlled Sex Money
Murder members in the prison system as an
Original Gangster.
The
first-degree conspiracy charge carries a
sentence of up to 20 years in prison upon
conviction.
“We
now have indicted the three top leaders
of Sex Money Murder statewide, as well as
ranking members who led gang operations
in Newark, in Trenton, at the Shore and
in the state prison system,” said
Director Paw. “We will pursue this
gang into every area of the state where
it tries to conduct its murderous business.”
Many
of the defendants were also charged in the
indictment with drug offenses.
In
a striking illustration of the violence
surrounding this gang, one of the defendants
indicted today was shot on Wednesday night
in Newark in a gang-related shooting that
took the life of a second man. The defendant,
Michael Rutledge, 20, of Newark, remained
in critical condition today at University
Hospital in Newark.
Deputy
Attorney General Pedro J. Jimenez Jr. presented
the cases to the grand jury. Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Mark Eliades and
Supervising Deputy Attorney General John-Robin
Quelch, Chief of the Division of Criminal
Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau,
are assisting in the case.
>
View
Indictment (680k pdf) plug-in
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. The indictment was handed up to
Superior Court Judge Charles A. Delehey
in Mercer County, who assigned the cases
to Superior Court in Monmouth County.
###
Defendants
I Charges
>
View
Indictment (680k pdf) plug-in
- Terrence
Byrd,
Paterson, DOB: 7/19/72
- Anthony
Carter, Paterson, DOB: 6/5/67
- Lorenzo
White, Hackensack, DOB: 1/14/69
-
Rafael Gonzales,
Passaic, DOB: 2/10/79
-
Royce Hodges,
Irvington, DOB: 4/22/73
- Jermaine
Linder, Trenton State Prison,
DOB: 7/19/72
-
Henry Lopez,
South Woods State Prison, DOB: 9/26/79
-
Leo Reed,
Northern State Prison, DOB: 4/26/73
-
Michael Rutledge,
Newark, DOB: 4/10/87
- Kazimou
Shomari, aka Anthony Woods, South
Woods State Prison, DOB: 9/29/63
- Narik
Wilson, Newark, DOB: 9/12/84
top
Charges
I
Defendants
(with potential penalties and defendants
named in count) -
>
View
Indictment (680k pdf) plug-in
- Count
1 -
Racketeering, 1st degree, 10-20 years/$200,000
(Carter, Gonzales, Hodges, Linder, Lopez,
Reed, Rutledge, Shomari, White and Wilson)
- Count
2 -
Leader
of Organized Crime, 2nd degree, 5-10 years/$150,000
(Byrd, Carter & White)
- Count
3 -
Possession
With Intent to Distribute a Controlled
Dangerous Substance, 2nd degree, 5-10
years/$150,000 (Carter)
- Count
4 -
Possession
With Intent to Distribute a Controlled
Dangerous Substance Within 500 Feet of
Certain Public Property, 2nd degree, 5-10
years/$150,000 (Carter)
- Count
5 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
1,000 Feet of School Property, 3rd degree,
3-5 years/$150,000 (Wilson & Hodges)
- Count
6 - Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
1,000 Feet of School Property, 3rd degree,
3-5 years/$150,000 (Wilson & Hodges)
- Count
7 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
1,000 Feet of School Property, 3rd degree,
3-5 years/$150,000 (Wilson & Rutledge)
- Count
8 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, 2nd
degree, 5-10 years/$150,000 (Wilson &
Rutledge)
- Count
9 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
1,000 Feet of School Property, 3rd degree,
3-5 years/$150,000. (Wilson & Rutledge)
- Count
10 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, 2nd
degree, 5-10 years/$150,000 (Wilson &
Rutledge)
- Count
11 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
1,000 Feet of School Property, 3rd degree,
3-5 years/$150,000 (Wilson & Rutledge)
- Count
12 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, 2nd
degree, 5-10 years/$150,000 (Gonzales
& Shomari)
- Count
13 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
500 Feet of Certain Public Property, 2nd
degree, 5-10 years/$150,000 (Gonzales
& Shomari)
- Count
14 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
1,000 Feet of School Property, 3rd degree,
3-5 years/$150,000 (Gonzales & Shomari)
- Count
15 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, 2nd
degree, 5-10 years/$150,000 (Gonzales)
- Count
16 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
500 Feet of Certain Public Property, 2nd
degree, 5-10 years/$150,000 (Gonzales)
- Count
17 -
Distribution
of a Controlled Dangerous Substance Within
1,000 Feet of School Property, 3rd degree,
3-5 years/$150,000 (Gonzales)
- Count
18 -
Conspiracy to Commit Murder, 1st degree,
10-20 years/$200,000 (Carter, Linder,
Lopez, Reed and White)
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