(Imagescourtesy of DEA and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, via Patch)
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., and New York City Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell today announced the indictment of ten members of the Own Every Dollar (“O.E.D.”) criminal enterprise connected to a murder, attempted murder and a string of violent armed robberies and shootings from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022 in Washington Heights, Midtown, the Lower East Side and the Bronx. The ten defendants are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with a total of 90 counts, including Enterprise Corruption. [1] Federal RICO charges against O.E.D. were also unsealed today as part of a parallel investigation by the Southern District of New York.
“As alleged, O.E.D. wreaked havoc on our streets,” said District Attorney Bragg. “This carefully structured criminal enterprise developed elaborate schemes to carry out robberies and violence, including tracking their victims before premeditated attacks. Today we have made New Yorkers safer by taking major violence drivers off the street, but we know we have much more work to do. My Office will continue to combat violent crime in tandem with our law enforcement and community partners so everyone in Manhattan can live safely in their neighborhoods.”
“These individuals lived by a brutal code of street violence – where firearms were recklessly pulled out and indiscriminately fired, where innocent lives were disregarded, where families and neighborhoods were traumatized and torn apart,” stated NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “Now they will no longer be able to terrorize New Yorkers. And make no mistake: Organized groups like this do terrorize. They sew fear and disorder, and they show zero respect for the lives of the people who reside and work in the neighborhoods where they wreak havoc. The vast resources and untiring efforts of the NYPD and our law enforcement partners, across multiple agencies, are concentrated on the nexus of gangs, guns, and drugs that drive much of the crime in New York City. And all the people we serve are safer today because of our collaboration.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record, members of O.E.D. shot and killed Jeffrey Sanchez during a robbery on September 20, 2021. As Mr. Sanchez walked to his parked car outside of the Opus Lounge at 417 West 202nd Street, defendants DAMIEN SUAREZ and JOHN ASLAN rushed towards him, and ASLAN shot him in the back. ASLAN and SUAREZ then stood over Mr. Sanchez, ripping his watch and jewelry from him as he lay motionless on the sidewalk. The indictment charges three other non-fatal shootings and 15 armed robberies, with robberies intensifying in frequency in the fall of 2021. The indictment includes allegations of at least 14 different firearms that were acquired and used by O.E.D. in this period.
The majority of the criminal activity took place in Manhattan, with some robberies and a shooting occurring in the Bronx. A number of the crimes included in the Enterprise Corruption series of pattern acts had been previously charged as felonies by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The indictment charges that O.E.D. is a highly structured criminal enterprise. Its members meet to plan their criminal acts and recite oaths of loyalty and have written rules that can be changed by a vote of the membership.
Court documents also describe the different roles that members of O.E.D. played in the carefully planned and executed robberies of patrons of nightclubs and restaurants. Some members rented luxury vehicles to use as getaway cars, while others were tasked with acquiring guns, or scouting victims on social media or in person. Certain individuals were tasked with actually committing robberies, while others fenced the stolen jewelry and watches. O.E.D purposefully targeted different clubs and restaurants in a variety of neighborhoods. When victims resisted, O.E.D. members pistol-whipped or shot them.
The indictment also charges that certain members and associates of O.E.D. committed acts of violence to improve their position or reputation within O.E.D., and to improve the reputation of O.E.D. itself.
The District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit is prosecuting the case, under the supervision of Chris Prevost (Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit) and Peter Pope (Executive Assistant District Attorney for Gun Violence Prevention).
The District Attorney thanked the detectives and supervisors of the NYPD’s Pattern 66 Task Force, especially Detective Joseph Gallagher and Inspector Nicholas Fiore, and Chief of Detectives James Essig. The District Attorney thanked District Attorney Darcel Clark for help provided by her Assistant District Attorneys in the Bronx District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. The District Attorney also thanked United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams and federal investigators for their collaboration and assistance.
Defendant Information
HUGO RODRIGUEZ Queens, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, two counts
Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
JOHN ASLAN Bronx, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Murder in the Second Degree, a class A-I felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, two counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
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ANGEL CORPORAN Bronx, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count
JUSTIN DEAZA Bronx, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, seven counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, seven counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, one count
Assault in the First Degree, one count
Assault in the Frist Degree, one count
Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, one count
Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
KELVIN HEREDIA New York, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, eight counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, eight counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
Assault in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Assault in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, one count
Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, three counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, three counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count
GEORGE MEJIA New York, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, four counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, four counts
Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count
JOAN MOYA Patterson, NJ Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, one count
RYELL RAINEY New York, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Murder in the Second Degree, a class A-I felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, two counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
DAMIAN SUAREZ New York, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, three counts
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, three counts
Murder in the Second Degree, a class A-I felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, two counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony, two counts
Escape in the Second Degree, a class E felony, one count
ALEXIES TAPIA New York, NY Charged:
Enterprise Corruption, a class B felony, one count
Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, three counts
Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, three counts
A Missouri man was indicted Tuesday for allegedly leaving a voicemail containing a threat on the personal cell phone of an election official in the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Maricopa County, Arizona.
Walter Lee Hoornstra, 50, of Tecumseh, is charged with one count of communicating an interstate threat and one count of making a threatening telephone call.
“These unlawful threats of violence endanger election officials, undermine our electoral process, and threaten our democracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The department’s Election Threats Task Force, working with our partners across the country, remains committed to investigating and prosecuting such illegal threats to ensure that these public servants are able to do their jobs free from intimidation.”
According to the indictment, on or about May 19, 2021, Hoornstra allegedly left the following voicemail message on the personal cell phone of the election official: “So I see you’re for fair and competent elections, that’s what it says here on your homepage for your recorder position you’re trying to fly here. But you call things unhinged and insane lies when there’s a forensic audit going on. You need to check yourself. You need to do your [expletive] job right because other people from other states are watching your ass. You [expletive] renege on this deal or give them any more troubles, your ass will never make it to your next little board meeting.”
“The FBI is committed to vigorously investigating and holding accountable anyone who threatens election workers,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “These public servants protect our fundamental right to vote by administering fair and free elections. Any attempts to interfere with our elections by intimidating election officials, their staffs, and volunteers with threats of violence will not be tolerated.”
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If convicted, Hoornstra faces up to five years in prison for making a threatening interstate communication and up to two years in prison for making a threatening telephone call. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Surveillance video caught the moment a Prescott Valley Wendy’s employee came up to a customer and sucker-punched him after an argument a couple of weeks ago. On July 26, 35-year-old Antoine Kendrick was at the register taking the 67-year-old man’s order. However, police say the man then complained about his order, and that’s when things turned violent.