New Jersey Gang Member Admits Mistaken Identity Murder

NEWARK, NJ—Emmanuel Jones, a set leader in the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang, admitted today to murdering an innocent teenager in a case of mistaken identity in July 2004 and conspiring to murder a rival gang member in October 2006 as part of a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jones, 27, a/k/a “Killer E,” a/k/a “Killer,” a/k/a “Emo,” of Jersey City, N.J., pleaded guilty to one count of a second superseding Indictment filed against him in January 2011, which charged with him conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Jones entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.

“This case illustrates the horror of gang violence and its devastating effect on innocent children in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “We will continue to use federal statutes, like RICO, to put those responsible in federal prison as we fight to keep New Jersey’s streets safe.”

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

Jones admitted that he was responsible for a July 19, 2004, murder that occurred in Jersey City. Jones stated that along with co-defendant Torien Brooks, 30, of Paterson, N.J., a/k/a “B.G.,” a/k/a “T-Bird,” a/k/a “Reek Boy,” he shot and killed a person they believed was responsible for an earlier shooting of a fellow gang member, but was actually an innocent teenager identified in court documents as “M.T.” Three other bystanders were hit by stray bullets during the incident.

Jones also admitted that he was responsible for conspiring to murder a rival gang member in October 2006 while they were both incarcerated in the Hudson County Jail. As part of that dispute, Jones ordered other members of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims to kill the rival gang member, identified in court documents as “C.C.” As a result of Jones’ order, C.C. was struck with a broom handle, causing him to fall down a flight of stairs in the jail.

Jones was previously indicted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for the July 2004 murder.

The racketeering conspiracy count to which Jones pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Jones is currently scheduled to be sentenced on October 25, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Horace; law enforcement officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Frank X. Schillari; the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Chief James F. Wittig; and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director Samuel Jefferson and Chief Thomas J. Comey, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Director Samuel DeMaio; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder; the New Jersey Department of Corrections, under the direction of Commissioner Gary M. Lanigan; and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

As for Brooks, the charges contained in the second superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

11-275 ### Defense counsel: Paul Condon Esq., Jersey City, N.J.; David Ruhnke Esq., Montclair, N.J.