COPS THWARTED KILLING, SEIZED .357 MAGNUM FROM DEFENDANTS
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, NYC
Department of Correction Commissioner Cynthia Brann and Department of Investigation
Commissioner Margaret Garnett today announced that 29 people have been indicted in an
enterprise of violence emanating from Rikers Island to the city’s streets, as well as other crimes.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendants allegedly stoked the violence inside the jails
by smuggling in scalpels and meting out slashings to inmates. They allegedly stalked robbery
victims they saw wearing jewelry on social media, and allegedly ran a crack cocaine business. In
a cold-blooded incident, two defendants allegedly set out to shoot a man who had an altercation
with the mother of a jailed gang member. Fortunately, investigators on this case got the
information, the shooting was thwarted and a loaded firearm was recovered.
“This case illustrates the ongoing fight to dismantle the brutal criminal network which has
its hub in Rikers Island, and shows how dangerous this battle can be for our law enforcement
officers. I thank them for their dedication and diligence.”
NYPD Commissioner O’Neill said, “Today's indictments are another product of the close
partnership between the NYPD and the Bronx District Attorney's Office, which continues to make
New Yorkers even safer. The people we serve will never stand for gang activity or the violence
it foments, either on our streets or inside our jails. Together, we are relentless in our pursuit of
true public safety in every corner of New York City.”
DOC Commissioner Cynthia Brann said, "This investigation and the resulting indictments
send a very clear message to anyone who attempts to bring weapons, violence, and drugs into our
jails. You will be prosecuted if you commit crimes in custody, and if convicted you will face prison time, even if you beat the charges that originally got you here. Our Correction Intelligence
Bureau works tirelessly to keep our officers and those in our custody safe, and that work takes
place not only in the jails, but out on the streets, in partnership with our fellow law enforcement
agencies."
DOI Commissioner Garnett said, “Today’s indictments reflect how vitally important law
enforcement partnerships are to proactively addressing crime in our City’s jails and protecting
the safety of staff and inmates. This investigation successfully targeted the gang and drug activity
which fuels violence on Rikers. DOI provided foundational assistance in this investigation,
monitoring recorded inmate phone calls and identifying individuals attempting to engage in
contraband smuggling and other dangerous criminal activity. DOI thanks the Bronx District
Attorney’s Office, the New York City Police Department and the Department of Correction for
their valuable partnership and commitment to pursuing crimes that threaten to undermine our
City’s jail system.”
District Attorney Clark said 13 of the 29 defendants were arrested during a takedown on
December 6-7, 2018, and one was arrested on December 10, 2018. They were arraigned before
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Lester Adler. Six are not yet apprehended and the remaining nine
are currently incarcerated. They were variously charged in seven indictments. The defendants are
due back in court on March 15, 2019.
The investigation by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, NYPD Bronx Gangs, NYPD Gun
Violence Suppression Division, NYC Department of Correction and the NYC Department of
Investigation began a year ago and involved wiretapping and electronic surveillance.
According to an indictment, defendants Donte Joe and Michael Winn are charged with
second-degree Conspiracy, Attempted Murder second-degree, and Attempted Assault and
Criminal Possession of Weapon charges in the June 29, 2018 incident. The two defendants
allegedly set out to kill an individual who had an altercation with defendant Althea Michelle
Hogan, mother of defendant Michael Robinson. They drove to Harlem in search of the individual,
and when they could not find the target they said in a phone call that they saw the target’s brother,
and would “just do him in.” Police officers on patrol apparently unnerved the defendants and
they headed back to the Bronx, where they were stopped by members of the investigative team
and a loaded .357 Magnum revolver was recovered. If convicted of the charges, the two
defendants could face up to 25 years in prison.
According to an indictment, Jamar Williams, alleged member of the “Mac Balla” set of the
Bloods who was incarcerated in Rikers Island, allegedly directed assaults on three inmates.
Defendants Earin Sistrunk, Edwin Toussaint, Keith Rawlins, Jacob Ramirez, Davell Marthone
and Michael Hunt allegedly slashed the faces of two “Mac Ballas” who broke gang rules, and
sliced open the cheek of a Trinitarios member. He required about 26 stitches for the 8-inch gash.
If convicted of Attempted Assault first-degree, they could face up to 15 years in prison. Jacob
Ramirez also is charged with Attempted Assault second-degree for trying to slash a Correction
Officer.
The indictment also charges inmates and two women on the outside with conspiring to
smuggle 30 scalpel blades and marijuana into the George R. Vierno Center and the Otis Bantum
Correctional Center on Rikers Island and the Vernon C. Bain Center jail barge.
According to an indictment, defendants Tashawn Murray and Rodelle Murray allegedly
scoured Instagram for photos of people wearing expensive jewelry to develop potential robbery
victims. In one incident, on October 12, 2018, they had a female accomplice arrange to meet a
man in a hotel, and planned to rob him in the room, then go to the man’s home to steal additional
valuables. Investigators alerted the man and he did not meet with the woman. A second robbery
was also pre-empted.
According to an indictment, two defendants are charged with smuggling Suboxone strips
into an upstate prison. Suboxone strips are prescribed to treat heroin addiction but are misused to
get high. They sold for in excess of $100 each inside Southport Correctional Facility, an ultramaximum security prison in Pine City, NY.
Other indictments charge defendants with operating crack cocaine operations in the 42nd
Precinct in the Bronx, near East 169th Street and Boston Road; and in the 46th Precinct, on Morris
Avenue between East 181st Street and Burnside Avenue; and with counterfeiting twenty, and fifty
and hundred dollar bills.
District Attorney Clark thanked her Detective Investigators: Lt. Brian O’Loughlin, DI Marco
Conelli, Lt. Rocco Galasso, DI Anthony DeLeon, DI Madelyn Ulerio, DI Therone Eugene, DI
Gregory Maloney, DI Nicholas Cavalcanti and DI John Might; and Detective Andro Stambuk of
the Bronx DA Squad, Deputy Chief Carlton Starling and Chief Frank Chiara, for their assistance
in the investigation.
District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Adlai Pinney, Don Ramrikhi and
Michael Roberts, Sergeant Leo Nugent, Lieutenant Joseph Orrechio and Captain Igor Pinkhasov
of the Bronx Gang Squad; as well as Detectives Maria Lopez and John Stoltenborg, Sergeant Joe
DeCandia and Sergeant Michael DeCandido of the NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division,
and Detectives Nicholas Ciuffi and Mitchell Geist of Bronx Homicide.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and is not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
Defendants
Michael Robinson, 34, Bronx, N.Y.
Damian Johnson, 56, Bronx, N.Y.
Michael Winn, 36, Bronx, N.Y.
Donisha Riggins, 30, Bronx, N.Y.
Isaac Abban, 24, Bronx, N.Y.
Sadarielle Creer, 32, Bronx, N.Y.
Sasha Edwards, 22, Bronx, N.Y.
Shawn Niblack, 19, Bronx, N.Y.
Devon McFarlane, 23, Bronx, N.Y.
Orlen Moodie, 27, Bronx, N.Y.
Curay Gray, 23, Bronx, N.Y.
Charisma Gonzalez, 21, Bronx, N.Y.
Eric Summers, 27, Bronx, N.Y.
Tashawn Murray, 25, Bronx, N.Y.
Tyshaun Frazier, 28, Bronx, N.Y.
Althea Hogan, 52, Manhattan, N.Y.
Edwin Toussaint, 25, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Erick Olegea, 20, Bronx, N.Y.
Keith Rawlins, 29, Manhattan, N.Y.
Rodelle Murray, 29, Bronx, N.Y.
Defendants Already in Custody
Donte Joe, 38, Bronx, N.Y.
Ricky Lott, 33
Kimani Stephenson, 26
Michael Hunt, 33
Earin Sistrunk, 24
Jeffrey Simon, 36
Davell Marthone, 22
Jamar Williams, 32
Jacob Ramirez, 24
