Latest news with #Bloods-affiliated
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Top Sex Money Murder gang members, including 4 from Broward, arrested, deputies say
Ten alleged top members of an infamous East Coast gang, including four people from Broward County, have been arrested after a years-long investigation of crimes that spanned across the state of Florida. Detectives with the Broward Sheriff's Office Gang Task Force and numerous other Florida law enforcement agencies over the past three years identified 'statewide leadership' of Sex Money Murder, known as SMM, which is a Bloods-affiliated gang. Two 'command-level members' lived in Broward County, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday. The gang members are accused of unlawful trafficking of firearms, trafficking of narcotics, fraud, planning or directing activities related to a criminal gang and conspiracy to commit homicide. During the investigation, detectives found a 'kill list' with intended victims of gang members and alerted them, the Sheriff's Office said. Four men from Broward County who were allegedly involved and were arrested are Damian Thompson, 31, of Pembroke Pines; Ridge Wietsma, 33, of Lauderhill; Quam'ani Floyd, 30, of Dania Beach; and Hank Edwards, 30, of Lauderdale Lakes, according to BSO. Thompson, Wietsma and Floyd were all arrested in Broward County but were held in the Highlands County jail in Sebring as of Friday. Edwards was charged while already in custody in Miami-Dade County and remains there, county jail records show. The 10 arrests came as a result of 'a coordinated and sweeping statewide operation' after arrest warrants were filed in March and April. Homes in Pembroke Pines, Lauderhill, and Hastings, located in St. Johns County, were searched, leading to the recovery of guns, trafficking amounts of narcotics and gang paraphernalia, the Sheriff's Office said. All 10 suspects were charged in Highlands County and will be tried there. The Sheriff's Office did not provide further details about the investigation, which involved six other county sheriff's offices, FBI SWAT and other federal and statewide agencies. Court records were not available Friday. The others arrested during the investigation are: Gene Rowe Jr, 27, of Gainesville, arrested in Alachua County; Bruce Garniss, 21,of Gainesville, charged while in custody in Alachua County; Deaunte Boyd, 31, of Winter Haven, charged while in custody in Polk County; Richard Rivera, 28, of Winter Haven, arrested in Polk County; Darling Siplin III, 26, of DeBary, charged while in custody in Seminole County; Andrew Mariano, 23, of Hastings, arrested in St. Johns County. Attorney General Ashley Moody's office in 2022 announced the arrest of 13 SMM members, all but two who were 'the main state leadership' in the Florida section of the gang. Part of the investigation focused on a scheme to smuggle synthetic cannabinoids into at least three state prisons by spraying the drugs onto pages of Bibles, Qurans and greeting cards that were then mailed to gang members inside the prisons, according to a news release at the time. Investigators recovered a total street value of more than $1.5 million of narcotics during that investigation and seized 18 guns.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Mother, aunt of teen charged in Newark cop's murder arrested for running open-air drug market
Cops busted the mother and aunt of the 14-year-old charged with killing a Newark cop just days after one brazenly boasted to The Post about their lucrative drug trade. Rabiyah Sorey, the 43-year-old mother of the teen accused of fatally shooting Detective Joseph Azcona on March 7, was described by New Jersey's Attorney General Matthew Platkin as the alleged ringleader of the Double ii, a Bloods-affiliated street gang. Sorey was arrested on March 24 by state authorities along with her twin sister, Hadiyah Sorey, and 24 other members or associates of the alleged gang, according to court documents obtained by The Post. Rabiyah is being held on felony racketeering, conspiracy, assault, and drug and weapons charges. Double ii is said to have operated an open-air drug market along the 200 block of North 9th Street, not far from Branch Brook Park, authorities said. Days before the arrests, The Post spoke to Hadiyah Sorey on North 9th Street about her nephew and the allegations against him. She boasted to The Post about making $4,000 a day selling drugs. 'I got the whole north behind me,' Hadiyah Sorey said, referencing Newark's North Ward. 'I do what the f–k I wanna do.' Investigators contend nine people served as 'creepers' for Double ii and distributed the heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl the gang sold, said investigators, who further allege the 'creepers' carried out violence on Rabiyah Sorey's behalf, including attacking those who disrespected her. Others served as overseers or enforcers. Using wiretaps and surveillance cameras, detectives managed to link Rabiyah to at least four shootings between April 2023 and December. The gang maintained and operated a drug production facility at Sorey's home in Elizabeth, according to authorities. The house was raided, and police recovered approximately $17,000 in cash as well as empty glassine wax folds, tape, rubber bands, and digital scales, prosecutors said. 'Illegal drug trafficking continues to impact the lives of New Jerseyans, and gangs like the one described in today's criminal complaints seek to profit from the sale of these potentially fatal drugs,' said Platkin in a statement. 'This particular drug enterprise is charged with routinely engaging in violence for the sake of intimidating others, maintaining gang discipline, and controlling their territory. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our cities and towns from these criminal organizations.' The Soreys could not be reached for comment.
New York Post
26-04-2025
- New York Post
Mother, aunt of teen charged in Newark cop's murder arrested for running open-air drug market
Cops busted the mother and aunt of the 14-year-old charged with killing a Newark cop just days after one brazenly boasted to The Post about their lucrative drug trade. Rabiyah Sorey, the 43-year-old mother of the teen accused of fatally shooting Detective Joseph Azcona on March 7, was described by New Jersey's Attorney General Matthew Platkin as the alleged ringleader of the Double ii, a Bloods-affiliated street gang. Sorey was arrested on March 24 by state authorities along with her twin sister, Hadiyah Sorey, and 24 other members or associates of the alleged gang, according to court documents obtained by The Post. Advertisement 6 Rabiyah Sorey is the alleged ringleader of the Double ii, a street gang affiliated with the Bloods. Office of the Attorney General 6 Hadiyah Sorey is the aunt of the 14-year-old charged with killing Azcona. Office of the Attorney General Rabiyah is being held on felony racketeering, conspiracy, assault, and drug and weapons charges. Advertisement Double ii is said to have operated an open-air drug market along the 200 block of North 9th Street, not far from Branch Brook Park, authorities said. Days before the arrests, The Post spoke to Hadiyah Sorey on North 9th Street about her nephew and the allegations against him. She boasted to The Post about making $4,000 a day selling drugs. 6 Hadiyah Sorey spoke to The Post on March 19. Leonardo Munoz 'I got the whole north behind me,' Hadiyah Sorey said, referencing Newark's North Ward. 'I do what the f–k I wanna do.' Advertisement Investigators contend nine people served as 'creepers' for Double ii and distributed the heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl the gang sold, said investigators, who further allege the 'creepers' carried out violence on Rabiyah Sorey's behalf, including attacking those who disrespected her. 6 Double ii is said to have operated an open-air drug market along the 200 block of North 9th Street. Leonardo Munoz Others served as overseers or enforcers. Using wiretaps and surveillance cameras, detectives managed to link Rabiyah to at least four shootings between April 2023 and December. Advertisement The gang maintained and operated a drug production facility at Sorey's home in Elizabeth, according to authorities. 6 Det. Joseph Azcona was fatally shot on duty March 7. Jose Azcona The house was raided, and police recovered approximately $17,000 in cash as well as empty glassine wax folds, tape, rubber bands, and digital scales, prosecutors said. 6 All told, 26 people were arrested for their involvement in Double ii. Office of the Attorney General 'Illegal drug trafficking continues to impact the lives of New Jerseyans, and gangs like the one described in today's criminal complaints seek to profit from the sale of these potentially fatal drugs,' said Platkin in a statement. 'This particular drug enterprise is charged with routinely engaging in violence for the sake of intimidating others, maintaining gang discipline, and controlling their territory. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our cities and towns from these criminal organizations.' The Soreys could not be reached for comment.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
Mom of slain Brooklyn teen slams judge for granting killer delayed sentence
The mother of slain Brooklyn teen Davonte Lewis slammed a Kings County Supreme Court judge for allowing one of her son's three killers to wrap up a college course before kicking off his 15-years-to-life prison sentence. Supreme Court Justice Matthew Blum on Thursday handed down the negotiated sentence to Quran Smith, 20, for Lewis' murder, but not before granting the killer's request to finish a college-level course at a Brooklyn juvenile detention center before shipping him upstate on June 27. '[The defendant] did, for no reason, no apparent reason whatsoever, take the life of a young man,' Judge Blum said in his decision to delay the start of Smith's sentence by more than three months. 'That being said, he has taken the right steps. I will sentence him today, I will stay the execution of the sentence so he can complete a college program.' Judge Blum's mercy was wasted on Smith, according to the victim's mother, who told the Daily News that her son's killer — just 16 years old when he pulled the trigger — has no hope for redemption. 'He should have gone straight upstate,' Carlene Watt said. 'He's not gonna change. Any kid that commits that type of crime is not gonna change.' Smith was the last of three defendants to be sentenced in Lewis' murder, all of whom belonged to the Folk No Love City gang, said prosecutors. Blum sentenced Malachi Simms, 19, to 14 years to life in prison and Frantzy Alexandre, 20, to 10 years in prison on April 15. Watt said that none of her son's killers received the sentence they deserved — death. 'Honestly, I wish they had got the death penalty because they took my son while he was in school,' said Watt. Surveillance video shows the teen gangbangers lurking behind the victim's car parked outside the Urban Dove Charter School, on E. 21st St. near Avenue K, where they ambushed Lewis on April 29, 2021. Smith and Simms did the shooting, striking Lewis in the gut, while Alexandre was spotted passing a firearm to one of his teen accomplices, prosecutors said. Police charged Smith and Simms less than two weeks after the shooting, when they found Smith in possession of a firearm that prosecutors said was used to gun down Lewis. Earlier this year Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the killing of Lewis, who prosecutors identified as a member of the Bloodhound Brims, caused long-simmering tensions between the victim's Bloods-affiliated street gang and the defendants' Folk Nation clique to boil over and ignite a gang war that played out over several years in music videos, social media posts and street violence. Watt denied her son's involvement in a gang and called the D.A.'s remarks that his death fueled a gang war 'despicable.' 'They are trying to make my son a scapegoat,' Watt told the Daily News. 'They are exploiting my son's case for their own benefit.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
‘Billy Bad Ass' gang member busted in unprovoked attack on elderly straphanger
An ex-con member of the 'Billy Bad Ass' gang was busted in the random assault of a 70-year-old straphanger aboard a Manhattan train Sunday, police said. The elderly victim was riding a southbound A train through the 145th Street station in Harlem around 11:30 p.m. when two men – including the 27-year-old criminal on parole – stormed up to him, cops said. One of the men — both strangers to the victim — punched him in the face for no reason, cops and law-enforcement sources said. A quick-thinking straphanger pointed out one of the two suspects to responding cops, who took him into custody at the scene, sources said. It was not immediately clear whether he was the alleged puncher or the accomplice. The second suspect got away. The man in cuffs – who was arrested but not officially charged by Monday afternoon – is a known gang member with 14 prior arrests, including two for gun-related offenses, sources said. His 'Billy Bad Ass' gang is a subset of the Bloods-affiliated Nine Trey Gangsters group, according to a WSOC-TV probe. The city suspect is on parole for a criminal possession of a weapon in Queens, with his supervision set to expire in 2027, state corrections records show. He is also wanted in connection to two Queens shootings, both from 2016, according to the sources. The victim in the subway attack was treated on scene for cuts on his nose, eye and forehead, sources said. A total of 119 felony assaults have been reported in the city's subway system so far this year, slightly down from the 124 tallied during the same period in 2024, according to the latest NYPD data. However, misdemeanor assaults have risen to 332 from the 312 for the same time periods, stats show.
