United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Christopher G. Raia, announced the unsealing of an Indictment today charging 12 members of an East Harlem-based narcotics trafficking organization with conspiring to distribute narcotics and with possessing firearms in furtherance of the narcotics trafficking conspiracy stemming from their conduct in and around the “Johnson Houses”—a colloquial name for the James Weldon Johnson Residential Community, a public housing development under the control of the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”). BRIAN GONZALEZ, a/k/a “Bmakk,” BRIAN NIN, a/k/a “BDot,” IRA BOYCE, a/k/a “Zaza,” JOSE HERNANDEZ, JAHDEEN WILLIAMS, PERCY CARRION, CAESAR HERNANDEZ, and QUADIR DAVONISH, a/k/a “Skii Dotty” were arrested today and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Stein. BRYAN COWAN, a/k/a “Chapo,” was previously in custody. JAFFARI HOPWAH, a/k/a “Baby Wuu,” DANIEL JONES, a/k/a “D Cash,” and RICHARD FARQUHARSON, a/k/a “Smooth” remain at large. This case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Sideny H. Stein.
“As alleged in the Indictment, these defendants distributed substantial quantities of narcotics into the community, putting lives in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “These defendants degraded the quality of life for Johnson Houses residents and the surrounding community by selling drugs in common areas including lobbies, courtyards, and a children’s playground. New York City residents should be able to live in NYCHA complexes, free from the dangers of drugs and guns. Thanks to the extraordinary work of our partners at the FBI and NYPD, the defendants now face federal charges for their crimes and the Johnson Houses are safer.”
“For years, these 12 defendants allegedly utilized the Johnson Houses to facilitate their open-air drug market and generate an illicit revenue stream,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia. “This joint investigation with NYPD Manhattan North Narcotics dismantled an alleged trafficking conspiracy disrupting the safety of a public housing development with a continual revolving door of drugs and firearms. During the nationwide initiative, Coast to Coast, our local Operation Empire Heat takedown reflects the FBI’s steadfast commitment to coordinating with our local law enforcement partners to protect innocent New Yorkers from the unlawful activities of any criminal organization.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and other court papers and proceedings:[1]
From at least in or about 2022 up to and including December 2025 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, GONZALEZ, NIN, COWAN, HOPWAH, BOYCE, JOSE HERNANDEZ, JONES, WILLIAMS, FARQUHARSON, CARRION, CAESAR HERNANDEZ, and DAVONISH, used a building within the Johnson Houses—and that building’s adjoining courtyard—as an open drug market in which they sold a variety of controlled substances, including crack cocaine and fentanyl, to customers who streamed into the building to buy the drugs. They did this by occupying the building’s lobby at all hours of the day and night, often holding cross-body bags or fanny packs where drug products would be stored. At times, the drug products were also kept in a building mailbox. Members of the conspiracy also exploited other parts of the building to facilitate their business. They used specific apartments to package and store drugs, and they used utility boxes throughout the building stairwells to stash their drug products, drug paraphernalia (such as syringes), and firearms.
In addition to possessing and storing firearms in communal locations, such as building utility boxes, some members of the conspiracy also carried firearms at and around the building, and on several occasions, a member of the conspiracy brandished and discharged a firearm within, or in the vicinity of, the Johnson Houses.
Several members of the conspiracy have been arrested at least once in recent years on state charges based on their possession of narcotics that were packaged for sale and/or possession of a firearm. The drug business in and around the building nevertheless continued unabated.
During simultaneous arrests and searches conducted today law enforcement agents seized the following items, among other things:
- a Building “stash” apartment: five firearms, two of which were “long” guns, capsules, bags, and baggies of suspected narcotics, and various drug paraphernalia and mixing material.
- NIN’s apartment: one firearm, one magazine, and two boxes of ammunition.
- CAESAR HERNANDEZ’s apartment: a large bag of suspected cocaine, a gun-cleaning kit, and a .40-caliber shell casing.
Below is a picture of the “long” guns that were seized.
All defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack”), 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and quantities of heroin and cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The defendants are also charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of the narcotics trafficking offense, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed, and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
A chart containing the names of the defendants, their ages, and places of residence is set forth below.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Violent Organizations and Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank J. Balsamello and Diarra Guthrie 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.
Name | Age | Place of Residence |
| BRIAN GONZALEZ, a/k/a “Bmakk” | 33 years old | New York, NY |
| BRIAN NIN, a/k/a “BDot” | 33 years old | Bronx, NY |
| JAFFARI HOPWAH, a/k/a “Baby Wuu” | 19 years old | New York, NY |
| IRA BOYCE, a/k/a “Zaza” | 20 years old | New York, NY |
| JOSE HERNANDEZ | 31 years old | New York, NY |
| DANIEL JONES, a/k/a “D Cash” | 31 years old | New York, NY |
| JAHDEEN WILLIAMS | 34 years old | New York, NY |
| RICHARD FARQUHARSON, a/k/a “Smooth” | 35 years old | New York, NY |
| PERCY CARRION | 26 years old | New York, NY |
| CAESAR HERNANDEZ | 34 years old | New York, NY |
| QUADIR DAVONISH, a/k/a “Skii Dotty” | 23 years old | New York, NY |
| BRYAN COWAN, a/k/a “Chapo” | 31 years old | New York, NY |
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