Defendants Allegedly Shot at Rivals in Broad Daylight in Schoolyard; Fired Shots Over a Family’s Heads, And Toward a City Bus
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch today announced that 20 alleged members of the “800 YGz” gang have been indicted in a conspiracy of violence, including a murder and 14 non-fatal shootings that turned the West Farms neighborhood into a shooting gallery.
District Attorney Clark said, “Brazen, senseless violence threatened the lives of school children, shoppers, along with anyone who walked down the street in daytime, violating the basic right to be safe. These defendants allegedly shot at rival gangs without any regard for the innocent bystanders caught in between the line of fire. In one incident, they shot a man in the head and killed him. Half the defendants were teenagers when they committed these crimes. We must provide more resources for young people, so they don’t choose gangs or guns.”
Mayor Adams said, “My number one job is protecting New Yorkers who want to live in peace and protecting our children from violence in the parks and on our playgrounds — for the people of the Bronx and all across the five boroughs. Investigators recovered nine firearms in this case — part of the more than 21,300 now permanently off our streets since I took office. New York City remains the safest big city in America, and it keeps getting safer thanks to this team. I want to thank DA Clark and her team, as well as Police Commissioner Tisch and the brave men and women of the NYPD, for their relentless pursuit of these violent criminals. Thanks to their partnership and dedication to public safety, our city is moving in the right direction. The train has left the station, and crime is not on it."
Commissioner Tisch said, “The 800 YGz crew terrorized neighborhoods in the Bronx with a wave of gun violence. These ruthless gang members showed zero regard for children and other innocent lives, shooting up schoolyards and city buses in broad daylight. But thanks to the dedicated NYPD investigators, that reign of terror ends today. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe, and I thank the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their partnership in taking down this violent gang.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendants are variously charged in a 73-count indictment with second-degree Murder, first-degree Manslaughter, second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Attempted Murder in the second degree, first-degree Reckless Endangerment, seconddegree Robbery, third-degree Robbery, first-degree Assault, second-degree Assault, seconddegree Conspiracy, and fourth-degree Conspiracy.
Detectives of the NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division/Bronx Violence Reduction Task Force and Bronx Warrant Squad arrested seven of the defendants on April 15, 2025 and they were arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Joseph McCormack. Five were remanded, one had bail set, and one was placed on supervised release. They are due back in court on April 21, 2025. Three defendants have not yet been arrested, and ten are currently incarcerated and will be arraigned on this indictment at a future date.
The nearly three-year investigation found the defendants, alleged members of the “800 YGz” gang based at 800 East 180th Street, allegedly carried out 15 shootings in or near West Farms in the Bronx, against rival gang members. Investigators recovered nine firearms over the course of the investigation. Five of the guns recovered were linked ballistically to 24 other shootings in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
The incidents outlined in the indictment occurred between April 2021 and July 2024. The defendants regularly met inside a building at 800 East 180th Street and allegedly used the location as headquarters before or after carrying out crimes.
The most serious incidents include:
On June 8, 2022, at approximately 11:28 a.m., near 2234 Walton Avenue, three of the defendants—including one who was 15 years old at the time--shot Rafael Jiminez, 29, in the head, killing him.
On December 4, 2023, at 4:10 p.m. on Adams Place, several of the defendants engaged in a running gun battle with rival gang members, shooting one man in the head. He recovered. Fourteen shell casings were recovered on the block.
On August 28, 2023, at approximately 2:55 p.m., in front of 997 East 179th Street, two of the defendants acting in concert with an unidentified individual allegedly opened fire on rival gang members, just a few feet away from a man and woman with three young children. Video footage shows the gunman shooting over the family, their faces filled with fear and one child clinging to an adult for protection.
On April 1, 2023, at approximately 6:30 p.m., at a courtyard next to Middle School 129 Academy for Independent Learning and Leadership on Mapes Avenue, the defendants, upon seeing opposition gang members on a scooter nearby, allegedly started shooting across the courtyard. Video shows children running for their lives. At the same location on December 4, 2022, the defendants can be seen on video ushering numerous kids off the basketball court of the schoolyard, then firing multiple shots at rivals.
On March 1, 2024, at approximately 1:54 p.m. in front of 926 East Tremont Avenue, four of the defendants allegedly approached a barber shop and fired shots into it from the sidewalk. The target returned fire. People outside scattered while patrons in the barber shop ducked for cover during the gun battle.
On February 23, 2023, at approximately 4:42 p.m. near Westchester Avenue and West Farms Road, two of the defendants acting in concert allegedly fired six rounds at a man walking to the MTA bus at the busy intersection. Video surveillance shows the target and several bystanders rolling on the ground and seeking cover under the bus.
District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Brian Green, Carlos Pineda and Patrick Nichols, and Sergeant Christopher Neil, all of the Gun Violence Suppression Division, the Bronx Warrant Squad, Detectives from Bronx Precinct Squads, and the NYPD Firearms Analysis Section.
Defendants (John Doe was adolescent at time of crime) Ernest Ofori, 22, aka Nesty John Doe CURRENTLY INCARCERATED Thierno Diallo, 22, aka Dolo John Doe CURRENTLY INCARCERATED John Doe CURRENTLY INCARCERATED John Doe CURRENTLY INCARCERATED Jonathan Westberry, 22, aka JB CURRENTLY INCARCERATED Axel Ava, 23, aka Assassin CURRENTLY INCARCERATED John Doe John Doe Abdoulaye Maregae, 22, aka, Africa CURRENTLY INCARCERATED John Doe CURRENTLY INCARCERATED John Doe, 18, aka Lil Rah John Doe, 17 CURRENTLY INCARCERATED John Doe, 18 John Doe, 19 John Doe John Doe Jose Chavez, 24, aka, Chapo CURRENTLY INCARCERATED Jonathan Figueroa, 21
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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