Eight Members of Stephen Crane Village Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Charged in 37-Rely Superseding Indictment | USAO-NJ

NEWARK, NJ – Eight of the 12 people arrested for their roles as members and employees of a drug trafficking organization at the Stephen Crane Village Housing Complex in Newark were charged today, including a defendant charged with the murder of a conspirator, Acting US This was announced by lawyer Rachael A. Honig.

A state grand jury returned a 37-count charge against Gary Shahid, 61; Jose Lora, 23; Charles Mells, 37; Raquan Rawls, 22; James Wicker, 28; Dayquan Jordan, 26; Michael Mayse, 34, and Dayana Valderrama, 25, as follows:

In February 2020, Shahid, Lora, Mells, Rawls, Wicker, Jordan and Mayse – all residents of Newark – along with four other members of a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Newark were charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine base. Jordan, Rawls, Williams, Hatcher and Mayse were also charged with distributing heroin and cocaine base. Mayse was charged with murder during and in connection with a drug trafficking crime.

Lora and his girlfriend Valderrama were charged in separate lawsuits of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On March 6, 2020, a federal grand jury brought three counts against Shahid for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, running a drug-related business, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Ricky Terrell, 24; Nasir Williams, 23; Quadir Hatcher, 28; and Tyree Purkett, 24, who were previously charged with the same criminal complaint in February 2020, have each pleaded guilty to information related to their roles in the drug trafficking organization.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Crane Village is a public housing complex near Branch Brook Park on the Belleville border. It consists of free-standing buildings with a total of 354 apartments, all of which are accessible via external entrances. The buildings are grouped around courtyards and pedestrian walkways, with the streets bisecting the complex. Because of its location and its arrangement, which makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to monitor, Crane Village is the site of an open air drug market. Between February 2019 and February 2020, law enforcement agencies investigated the organization that controlled that drug market.

Through numerous controlled drug purchases, consensual recorded phone calls and text messages, physical surveillance, and analysis of detailed recordings of phone calls, law enforcement agencies found that the defendants had conspired to distribute narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine base, in and around Kran Village.

The organization used a drug storage apartment in Crane Village to package and store drugs for distribution. On December 15, 2019, Mayse entered the hiding place and allegedly murdered a conspirator over a monetary debt related to the distribution of narcotics.

Counting possession with the intention of distributing 400 grams or more of fentanyl will result in a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of at least US $ 10 million. The indictment of conspiracy to distribute at least 28 grams of cocaine base and a lot of heroin and fentanyl provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a fine of at least $ 5 million. Counting distribution and / or possession with the intention of distributing 100 grams or more of heroin, 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base is each subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison and a fine of at least $ 5 million. Counts of distribution and / or possession with the intention of distributing a lot of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base each result in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $ 1 million each.

Cases of unlawful possession of a firearm and / or ammunition are punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of US $ 250,000. The charges of possession of a firearm to promote a drug trafficking crime each include a mandatory minimum 5 year sentence, which must follow any other sentence, and a US $ 250,000 fine. Counting the entertainment of a drug hangout carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $ 500,000. The number of causes of death from the use of a firearm equates to the death penalty or a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of $ 250,000.

Acting US Attorney Honey has credited Special Agents and Forces of ATF, Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent Toby C. Taylor; the Belleville Police Department, headed by Chief Mark Minichini; DEA Special Agents and Forces under the direction of Special Envoy Susan A. Gibson in Newark; the Newark Police Department, led by Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara; the Essex County Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Acting Attorney Theodore N. Stephens II; and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, headed by Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura, whose investigations led to today’s indictment. She also thanked the US Marshals Service, the Nutley Police Department, the Bloomfield Police Department, the West Orange Police Department, the Verona Police Department, the Orange Police Department, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this case.

This case is part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was established in August 2017 by the New Jersey District Attorney’s Office, the Essex County Attorney’s Office, and the Newark City Department of Public Safety for the purpose of combating violent crime in and around Newark. Federal, state, county, and city authorities work together and pool resources to track down violent criminals who threaten the security of the community. The VCI consists of the US Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Attorney’s Office, the Essex County Sheriffs Office, NJ State Parole, Union County Jail, NJ State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center / Real Time Crime Center, NJ Department of Corrections, East Orange Police Department, and Irvington Police Department.

This case is also part of an operation by the Organized Crime Task Forces in the Fight against Drugs (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the top criminal organizations threatening the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence, inter-agency approach. More information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The government is represented by US Assistant Attorneys Tracey Agnew and Cassye Cole of the Organized Crime and Gangs Division of the Newark US Attorney’s Department of Criminal Justice.

The charges and allegations in the alternate indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.