By Michael V. Cusenza
An indictment was unsealed on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn charging Abel Mora, a member of the violent Trinitarios street gang, with two separate shootings in Queens and Brooklyn on Aug. 13. Mora, 22, was arrested Tuesday morning and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.
As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, the charges stem from two shootings allegedly committed by the defendant on Sunday, Aug. 13, within a span of nine hours. At approximately 1:05 p.m. in Far Rockaway, Mora exchanged gunfire with individuals inside of a vehicle as they chased each other throughout a residential neighborhood in the vicinity of New Haven Avenue and Beach 13th Street. The shooting, which was captured on video, arose from a fight that broke out between an occupant of the vehicle and Mora’s associate. Residents of the neighborhood, including children, ran for cover to escape harm.
The second shooting occurred at approximately 9:18 p.m. outside of 3441 Fulton Street in East New York, Brooklyn. Mora allegedly shot a victim and robbed him of his backpack. Video surveillance capturing this incident showed that Mora committed the crime outside of a busy convenience store with customers and children present inside and outside the location. Immediately following the shooting, Mora fled to Etna Street with the stolen property, where he was picked up by an associate on a scooter. The victim survived. A total of ten 9mm Luger cartridges were possessed by Mora in the two shootings.
Law enforcement officers on Tuesday recovered a loaded 9mm firearm with a 17-round magazine inside Mora’s Far Rockaway residence.
At the time of the shootings, Mora had a prior felony conviction for assault.
“As alleged, this defendant was a one-man crime wave, who engaged in a broad daylight gunfight in Queens, then robbed and shot someone in Brooklyn later that same day,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “This office will continue working tirelessly to dismantle gangs and reduce gun violence by prosecuting violent offenders who put the safety of communities in our district at extreme risk.”
If convicted, Mora faces up to 15 years in prison on each of the two counts.
“Gang members like Mora continue to plague our city with his blatant disregard for the safety of our community and his reckless indifference to human life. It is only through our local and federal partnerships that we are able to put a stop to these violent repeat offenders,” said FBI NY Assistant Director-in-Charge James Smith. “This case is another example of how the FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to keeping the streets of New York City Safe for everyone in our community.”
Peace also thanked the City Police Department—specifically the men and women of the 75th and 101st precincts—“for their outstanding work and assistance in this investigation and prosecution.”
City Police Commissioner Edward Caban called Tuesday’s indictment “a result of the tight focus the NYPD and our law enforcement partners maintain to identify and remove from the streets the individuals who are most significantly driving crime and violence in New York City neighborhoods.”
