Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that BRANDON GREEN, a/k/a “Light,” was sentenced today to approximately 24.5 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe in connection with his leadership of the Blood Hound Brims, a violent street and prison gang that operated in New York City and elsewhere, and his participation in narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses. GREEN was convicted on March 27, 2019, following an approximately five-week jury trial before Judge Gardephe, who also imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Brandon Green, one of the leaders of a ruthlessly violent gang, was responsible for extensive narcotics trafficking throughout the city and state of New York. Today’s lengthy sentence sends an important message to the Blood Hound Brims and other gang members that they will be arrested, prosecuted and face justice for their crimes.”
According to court documents, the evidence at trial, and statements made in court proceedings:
The Blood Hound Brims was a criminal enterprise that operated principally in the greater New York area, from at least 2005 up to and including 2016. The BHB was a faction of the Bloods street gang, which operates nationwide, and is under the New York Blood Brim Army (“NYBBA”). The BHB operated within and around various locations in New York, including New York City, Westchester County, Elmira, and in Pennsylvania, as well as within and outside federal and state penal systems.
The BHB used a hierarchical structure that was organized, in part, by New York City borough, and that was maintained, in part, through the payment of dues. The founder and leader of the gang was Latique Johnson, and other members and associates of the BHB referred to Johnson as the “Godfather.” The gang was divided into several “pedigrees,” each of which had its own leadership structure which was approved by Johnson. Leadership positions within the pedigrees included, among others, treasurers who collected dues from members of a particular pedigree, and individuals who performed security and disciplinary functions for the pedigree.
Members of the BHB had regular meetings, sometimes called “pow wows” or “9-11s,” at which members were required to pay dues. Some of the meetings were among members of a particular pedigree, and other meetings were for all members of the Enterprise. Word of the meetings was disseminated via text message, word-of-mouth, and flyers. The BHB’s business, including rivalries with other gangs, shootings, the arrest of gang members, guns, and drugs, was regularly discussed at these meetings. “Kitty dues” – money that paid for commissary funds, lawyers, guns, and drugs, and that served as tribute to Johnson – were collected at these meetings. The BHB maintained its own rules and constitution that new members were required to learn. Members of the BHB also used code words and secret phrases to communicate with each other both while in prison and on the street in order to avoid detection by law enforcement.
One of the BHB’s principal objectives was to sell cocaine base, commonly known as “crack cocaine,” powder cocaine, and heroin, which members and associates of the BHB sold throughout the greater New York area and in Pennsylvania.
Members and associates of the BHB engaged in multiple acts of violence against rival gangs. These acts of violence included assaults and attempted murders, which were committed to protect the Gang’s drug territory, to retaliate against members of rival gangs who had encroached on the territory controlled by the BHB, and to otherwise promote the standing and reputation of the Gang vis-à-vis rival gangs. These acts of violence also included assaults and attempted murders against members and associates of the BHB itself, as part of internal power struggles within the Gang.
GREEN, 38, of the Bronx, New York, was one of BHB’s primary suppliers of cocaine and heroin, providing other Gang members with redistribution quantities of narcotics for resale in New York City and Elmira, New York. GREEN also maintained a supply of firearms, which he sometimes made available to other members of the Gang. At the time of GREEN’s arrest in May 2017, U.S. Marshals recovered six loaded firearms from the residence where he was living.
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Latique Johnson, a/k/a “La Brim,” 41, of the Bronx, New York, the Gang’s founder, was convicted following a jury trial of of racketeering conspiracy, assault in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms. Johnson was sentenced in 2019 to 30 years in prison.
Donnell Murray, 41, of the Bronx, New York, a BHB leader was convicted following a jury trial of racketeering conspiracy, assault in aid of racketeering, narcotics conspiracy, and a firearms offense. Murray was sentenced in 2019 to 20 years in prison.
David Cherry, 40, of the Bronx, New York, a BHB leader, was convicted following a guilty plea to a firearms offense. Cherry was sentenced in June to 10 years in prison.
The prosecution is being handled by the Violent and Organized Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Feinstein, Allison Nichols, and Andrew Chan are in charge of the prosecution.
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