Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHRISTOPHER HOWARD, a/k/a “Juju,” a member of a violent, Bronx-based street gang known as “Money, Bitches, Guns” (“MBG”), was convicted yesterday of racketeering conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, and a firearms offense. HOWARD was convicted following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Christopher Howard was a member of a violent street gang that operated in and around NYCHA’s Mill Brook Houses. In August 2014, he shot into a crowd of people in the Mill Brook Houses, injuring three individuals. Now he stands convicted for his crimes. We thank the New York City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their tireless efforts to secure this important conviction.”
As reflected in the Indictment, documents previously filed in the case, and evidence introduced at trial:
From 2007 through October 2017, HOWARD was a member of MBG, a local street gang based in the Mill Brook Houses in the Bronx that was responsible for narcotics trafficking and several acts of violence. As part of his membership in MBG, Howard boasted about his gang membership on social media and shot at a rival gang member. Specifically, in the early morning hours of August 17, 2014, HOWARD, aiming for a rival gang member who had previously broken HOWARD’s jaw, shot into a crowd of people gathering in a small courtyard in the Mill Brook Houses. Three people were injured as a result of the shooting, including HOWARD’s intended target.
HOWARD, 26, of the Staten Island, New York, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum potential sentence of life in prison.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
