Members Of Bronx Crew Charged With Conducting Round-The-Clock Drug Operation Across The Street From A School

 

Defendants Allegedly Sold Fentanyl, Heroin, and Crack Cocaine, and Carried Guns

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Edward A. Caban, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging three members of a Bronx-based narcotics trafficking organization with conspiring to distribute narcotics and with possessing firearms in furtherance of the narcotics trafficking conspiracy.  BRYANT ESTEVEZ, a/k/a “Smack,” and TEREL BYERS, a/k/a “Rell,” a/k/a “Raff,” were arrested yesterday and will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron.  A third defendant, JOHNNY MONTEDEOCA, a/k/a “Chi,” remains at large.  This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, the defendants took over an apartment building in the Bronx and used it to sell fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs, and carried guns to protect their operation.  Worse still, they allegedly peddled these incredibly dangerous substances mere feet from a grade school.  Today’s arrests make abundantly clear that this level of disregard for the safety and well-being of the communities in this district will not be tolerated.  Thanks to the work of law enforcement and the prosecutors of this Office, these defendants now face serious federal penalties.” 

NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said: “These charges exemplify the NYPD’s efforts to eliminate illegal drugs and guns from New York City neighborhoods – especially in the vicinity of our schools.  I commend our dedicated NYPD investigators and everyone involved in this case from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District because safeguarding our children will always be at the forefront of our shared public safety mission.”

As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and in other court filings:[1]

From at least in or about February 2023 through at least in or about December 2023, ESTEVEZ, BYERS, and MONTEDEOCA were part of a narcotics trafficking organization that sold drugs and firearms in the Bronx.  This organization (the “Concord Avenue Crew”) operated principally out of a residential building (the “Building”) located on Concord Avenue in the Bronx across the street from an elementary and middle school.  The Concord Avenue Crew sold drugs — including fentanyl-laced heroin, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine — from the Building at all hours of the day and night, seven days a week.  These sales were conducted, among other places, on the sidewalk in front of the Building; through the window of a street-level apartment in the Building; and inside a side entrance to the Building.  The Concord Avenue Crew’s narcotics trafficking operation caused drug customers to line up on the street outside the Building, interfered with residents’ access to the Building, and prompted repeated complaints to the NYPD by residents and by parents whose children attended school across the street.

Members of the Concord Avenue Crew routinely carried firearms in connection with their narcotics trafficking operation, including by carrying firearms on their persons and storing them in areas where they were stashing and selling narcotics.  On multiple occasions, members of the Concord Avenue Crew also sold firearms to undercover officers.

ESTEVEZ, 25, of the Bronx, New York; BYERS, 21, of the Bronx, New York; and MONTEDEOCA, 34, of the Bronx, New York, are each charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and mixtures and substances containing detectable amounts of heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine.  This charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.  Each of the defendants is also charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of the narcotics trafficking offense charged in the Indictment, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed, and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and thanked the Office of the New York State Attorney General for its assistance. 

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Violent & Organized Crime Unit and Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick R. Moroney and Alexandra S. Messiter are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.