Nine men were arrested last week in connection with two separate narcotics trafficking organizations based in Far Rockaway.
The accused are charged with trafficking heroin, crack and powdercocaine. They were arrested after a seven-month joint investigation by the FBI and the NYPD.
Two of the defendants were also indicted for firearms trafficking, and one defendant was charged with possessing ammunition after having been convicted of a felony.
“These charges signal our continuing commitment to prosecuting drug traffickers in all of our communities, including Far Rockaway, a neighborhood that has been victimized by a disproportionate share of drug activity and related violence,” said United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch, who announced the arrests. According to court documents, Pedro Garcia, Alberto Ocasio, and Davon Pearson, together sold cocaine and cocaine base on numerous occasions to an undercover NYPD detective.
Ocasio and Pearson also sold a .22-caliber handgun and ammunition to the undercover detective, three days after Ocasio had pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to a narcotics felony.
During one recorded meeting, Ocasio and Pearson allegedly offered to sell the undercover detective a short-barreled shotgun, which Pearson boasted could be used to “take out a whole block.”
During another recorded transaction, Ocasio admitted that he had shot at members of the Crips street gang only days after selling the .22-caliber firearm to the undercover detective.
Jason Carter, Steven Dove, Floyd Goodson, Elijah Ingram, Dennis Jenkins, and Bentley Martin are also accused of engaging in many sales of heroin and cocaine to a NYPD undercover detective in another trafficking circle.
If convicted, Garcia, Ocasio and Pearson face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years.
Carter, Dove, Goodson, Ingram, Martin, and Jenkins face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
By Katie Riordan
