Two separate indictments were unsealed
in federal court in Brooklyn yesterday charging nine defendants from the Far
Rockaway section of Queens, New York with trafficking heroin, crack, and powder
cocaine. Two defendants were also charged with firearms trafficking, and one
defendant was charged with possessing ammunition after having been convicted of
a felony.1 Six of the defendants arrested yesterday are scheduled to be
arraigned this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak
at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York. The cases
have been assigned to United States District Judges Frederic Block and Brian M.
Cogan.
The charges and arrests were announced
by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New
York; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New
York City Police Department.
A seven-month joint investigation by the
FBI and the NYPD resulted in the charges against members of two separate
narcotics trafficking organizations based in Far Rockaway, Queens. As detailed
in the first indictment and a detention memorandum filed by the government,
Pedro Garcia, Alberto Ocasio (also known as “Berto”), and Davon Pearson (also
known as “Red”) 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
(also known as “G”), Elijah Ingram (also known as “EJ”), Dennis Jenkins (also
known as “Meaty”), and Bentley Martin (also known as “Killa” and “B”) were
charged in a second indictment with being members of another drug trafficking
organization also based in Far Rockaway. According to the indictment and
detention memorandum, these defendants engaged in numerous sales of heroin and
cocaine to an NYPD undercover detective.
“Once again, the indictments announced
today demonstrate that narcotics trafficking and illegal firearms go
hand-in-hand. 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,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch
added that the government’s investigation is ongoing.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge
Fedarcyk stated, “The FBI’s commitment to policing drug trafficking
organizations is rooted in the inseparable connection between drugs and guns.
Peddling poison in city neighborhoods is hazard enough, but it is compounded by
the ever-present menace of the guns so often used by drug traffickers.”
NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “Taking
illegal guns and narcotics off neighborhood streets improves—and no doubt
saves—lives in Far Rockaway and anywhere police concentrate their efforts. The
arrests today are the result of the hard work of the NYPD Queens Gang Division
to identify and shut down alleged violent drug trafficking organizations,
working together with federal prosecutors.”
If convicted of the most serious
offenses in the indictment, Garcia, Ocasio, and Pearson face a mandatory
minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 40 years’
imprisonment. Carter, Dove, Goodson, Ingram, Martin, and Jenkins face a maximum
sentence of 20 years in prison.
The government’s case is being
prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Amatruda and Alexander Solomon.
The Defendants Arrested Yesterday:
JASON CARTER
Age: 43
PEDRO GARCIA
Age: 35
FLOYD GOODSON
Alias: “G”
Age: 53
ELIJAH INGRAM
Alias: “EJ”
Age: 54
DENNIS JENKINS
Alias: “Meaty”
Age: 56
BENTLEY MARTIN
Aliases: “Killa” and “B”
Age: 29
DAVON PEARSON
Alias: “Red”
Age: 23
1 The charges contained in the
indictments are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent
unless and until proven guilty.
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