Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
“We must do absolutely everything we can to get illegal firearms off of our streets,” DA Katz said.
By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, announced on Tuesday one of the largest gang takedowns in the history of the office: a 151-count indictment brought against 33 alleged gang members, five of whom are charged with murder. The murder charges are for the shooting death of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin, gunned down in 2019 by a reputed gang member who mistook him for a rival; and the slaying of Sean Vance on New Year’s Eve 2020.
The indictment is the culmination of a nearly three-year investigation into gun and gang violence in and around Baisley Park Houses and nearby communities.
The defendants were arraigned by Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder on a 151-count indictment variously charging them with conspiracy in the first, second and fourth degrees, murder in the second degree and additional charges. Justice Holder ordered the defendants, who range in age from 17 to 40, to return to court the second week of May.
At the center of the conspiracy unveiled today is the blood feud between Southeast Queens street gangs Money World and rivals Local Trap Stars and Never Forget Loyalty. While the gang war was set off by a slashing in April 2019, the tensions and violence between the warring factions escalated after the murder of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin in October 2019.
Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
The historic indictment is the culmination of a nearly three-year investigation into gun and gang violence in and around Baisley Park Houses and nearby communities.
Since Griffin’s murder, there have been more than 22 shootings, one fatal. The feud has been fueled through social media and rap videos, with both sides bragging about violent exploits and taunting their rivals, including disrespecting deceased family and friends. Some 34 firearms have been recovered pursuant to search warrants and arrests.
According to the charges:
- On April 16, 2019, at approximately 4:43 p.m., Money World members Tyseam Mcrae and Tymirh Bey-Foster, in the vicinity of 127-04 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., punched and kicked a Trap Stars member, then slashed him across the nape of the neck, causing severe scarring and deformity. The attack sparked the “gang war” between Money World and Local Trap Stars that triggered the investigation leading to the indictment and arrests announced today.
- On Oct. 26, 2019, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Aamir Griffin, 14, was playing basketball at the Baisley Park Houses. From nearby Foch Blvd., Money World member Sean Brown mistook Griffin for a rival gang member and fired three shots from a .380-caliber handgun. One bullet penetrated Griffin’s upper chest, pierced both his lungs, and killed him. The shooting leads to an escalation of the violence between the rivals.
- On July 3, 2020, at approximately 11:52 p.m., members of the Local Trap Stars followed a member of the Money World gang exiting the since-shuttered Umbrella Hotel at 124-18 Queens Blvd. A shootout ensued outside the hotel during which Local Trap Stars member Zaire Rush shot Money World member Tavion Scott in the leg.
- On Jan. 28, 2020, at approximately 2:34 p.m. outside of Martin Van Buren High School, Kobe Ruffin and fellow Trap Stars members approached individuals walking out of the school inquiring whether they were members of the Money World gang. Ruffin identified Money World member Gift Vasquez in the middle of a crowd of students, took out a gun and shot him in the leg.
- On March 14, 2020, at approximately 2:50 p.m., in the vicinity of 164-01 Foch Blvd., Money World members Laquan Hardy King and Sean Brown walked to the middle of the Baisley Park Houses, took out firearms and shot through a playground in the direction of rival gang members. A few hours later, Local Trap Stars members Zaire Rush, Elijah Cowan and Alihosene Kamara drove past the home of Money World member Jokai Coy and opened fire on the house.
- On Dec. 31, 2020, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Sean Vance, 26, was seated in the driver’s seat of a BMW double-parked on a busy thoroughfare in Jamaica, in front of 113-08 Sutphin Blvd. A Honda sedan driven by Money World member Justin Harvey pulled up alongside the BMW. Money World member Tymirh Bey-Foster got out of the Honda with a gun and fired eight shots at Vance, striking him each time and killing him. Bey-Foster, Harvey and fellow Money World members Jokai Coy and Joel Lewis planned the murder, mistakenly believing Vance was involved in the shooting of Money World member Sean Brown earlier that day.
- On Aug. 23, 2022, at approximately 8:50 p.m., Ahmel Addison opened fire on the Baisley Park Gardens complex from a car driven by fellow Local Trap Stars member and co-defendant Steven Raphael. Addison hit an innocent bystander and barely missed a 7-year-old.
- On Jan. 21, 2023, at approximately 2:45 p.m., in the vicinity of 119-17 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Money World member Jokai Coy shot at Local Trap Stars members, including Kobe Ruffin, who was struck in the arm. An innocent bystander walking to a nearby deli was hit in the shoulder.
“Whether it was a young man playing basketball with friends, a schoolteacher walking his dog, or a mother running out for milk for her children, we have seen law-abiding New Yorkers peacefully going about their business killed by mindless gang gun violence. We must do absolutely everything we can to get illegal firearms off of our streets. It is why the work of the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Unit and my Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau is critically important. I commend them for their outstanding work in bringing these extremely violent and dangerous individuals to justice,” Katz said.
“The people of New York City are safer because of the meticulous investigation and sustained effort of the NYPD officers and Queens prosecutors involved in this important case,” Sewell added. “Our pledge is always to achieve justice for crime victims and to hold violent gang members who undermine public safety accountable for their crimes. We will work every day to protect every city neighborhood and I want to thank the Queens district attorney’s office and everyone else whose dedication to justice and public safety is reflected in today’s indictment.”
