Crips Gang Member Pleads Guilty to a Murder in Brooklyn

The Defendant, a Member of the Cypress Gangsta Crips, Fatally Shot a Bloods-Affiliated Rival

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Tyvon Bannister, also known as “Turtle,” a member of the Crips-affiliated Cypress Gangsta Crips (CGC) street gang, pleaded guilty to a firearms-related murder charge in connection with his July 2014 fatal shooting of Rayvon Henriques.  The guilty plea was entered before United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the guilty plea.

As set forth in prior court filings and statements in court, Bannister is a member of the CGC, which is comprised of individuals residing in and around the Cypress Hills Houses (“Cypress”), a large New York City Housing Authority complex in East New York, Brooklyn.  Cypress has been plagued by gang and drug-related violence arising largely from a long-standing feud between the CGC, who hail from the “Backside” (buildings on Linden Boulevard) and “Teamside” (buildings on the western end of Sutter Avenue and the northern end of Fountain Avenue), and the Bloods-affiliated gang members who reside in the “Frontside” (buildings on the eastern end of Sutter Avenue).  This feud dates to at least 2010, when a person from the Frontside was believed to have killed a member of the Backside.

On July 8, 2014, Bannister and another gang member shot and killed Henriques in front of a nightclub in East New York.  Henriques, who was 26-years-old at the time of his death, was targeted because of his association with the CGC’s chief rivals, the Bloods-affiliated gang members from the “Frontside” section of Cypress.    

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret E. Gandy and Andrey Spektor are in charge of the prosecution.