New Jersey Gang Member Admits Mistaken Identity Murder, Other Gang-Related Crimes

NEWARK, NJ—Torien Brooks, 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, kidnapping a rival gang member, and conspiring to distribute narcotics as part of a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Brooks, 30, a/k/a “B.G.,” a/k/a “T-Bird,” a/k/a “Reek Boy,” of Paterson, N.J., pleaded guilty to one count of a second superseding indictment filed against him in January 2011, which charged him with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Brooks entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.

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

Brooks admitted that he was responsible for a July 19, 2004 murder that occurred in Jersey City. Brooks stated that along with co-defendant Emmanuel Jones, 27, of Jersey City, N.J., a/k/a “Killer,” a/k/a “Killer E,” a/k/a “Emo,” 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.

Brooks also admitted that he conspired with fellow gang members Larry Mayo, 29, John Benning, 28, and Haleek State, 26, all of Paterson, to kidnap a rival gang member, identified in court documents as “M.M.” Brooks said the plan arose out of a disagreement he had with M.M. after M.M. changed Bloods sets without receiving permission. On April 11, 2005, the four gang members kidnapped and pistol whipped M.M., eventually taking him to the Paterson Falls to murder him. As the gang members exited the car, M.M. was able to escape and run down the street, saving his life.

Brooks also admitted that he conspired with other individuals from in or about April 2007 through in or about March 2008 to smuggle heroin into Northern State Prison in Newark, where he was incarcerated. Brooks also admitted that he conspired with other members and associates of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims to sell heroin on the streets of Paterson, the proceeds of which were sent back to his prison commissary account.

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

The racketeering conspiracy count to which Brooks pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Brooks is currently scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 14, 2011.

Jones, Mayo, and Benning have pleaded guilty to related offenses and await sentencing.

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 today’s plea.

He also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio; the Newark Police Department, under the leadership of Director Samuel DeMaio and Chief Sheilah A. Coley; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes; 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.

Defense counsel: Thomas F.X. Dunn Esq.; Mitchell A. Golub Esq., New York, N.Y.