Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WENDELL BELLE, a/k/a “Delly Dell,” was sentenced this afternoon to a term of 384 months of imprisonment in federal custody, which must run consecutively to a prior sentence of 108 months of imprisonment in state custody, for his crimes as a high-ranking member of the “Young Gunnaz” or “YGz” gang. Those crimes included the April 16, 2012 murder of Moises Lora, a/k/a “Noah,” 16, during which BELLE and several other YGz gang members stomped Lora to death in a courtyard in the Melrose housing projects in the Bronx, and the November 26, 2013 attempted murder of a rival gang member, whom BELLE shot near the Bronx Criminal Courthouse. BELLE was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by United States District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, before whom he previously pled guilty.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Wendell Belle and his fellow gang members stomped to death Moises Lora, a frail, 90-pound, 16-year-old, a few yards from a playground, and Belle later shot a rival gang member on a busy street in the middle of a workday near the Bronx Criminal Courthouse. The sentence imposed holds Belle accountable for his brutal crimes, and we hope that it also brings some comfort to the victims of Belle’s crimes, including the family of Moises Lora. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively prosecute those who engage in such violence in our communities.”
According to the charging and other documents filed in the case, as well as the evidence presented at a co-defendant’s presentencing hearing and statements made during BELLE’s guilty plea and sentencing proceedings and other court proceedings in this case:
BELLE was a high-ranking member of the Bronx-based street gang known as the YGz. From at least 2005 to 2016, members and associates of the YGz enriched themselves by committing robberies and by selling drugs, such as crack cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, and committing acts of violence, including the murder of rival gang members, rival drug traffickers, and innocent bystanders. As part of his involvement in the YGz gang, BELLE participated in numerous acts of violence in the South Bronx.
For example, as part of his involvement in the YGz gang, BELLE and several other YGz gang members murdered Moises Lora, a member of a rival gang, on April 16, 2012, in the South Bronx. On the date of the murder, a group of YGz members, including BELLE, got drunk, and began arguing among themselves about who had done the most violence for the YGz. This group of YGz members went to the territory of a rival gang in the Melrose housing projects to settle their dispute. Upon arriving at the Melrose projects, BELLE and other members of the YGz saw Lora and attacked him. During the attack, Lora’s skull was fractured in several places. BELLE and the group left Lora to die. Following the stomping, BELLE and several of his confederates bragged to fellow YGz members about what they had done.
In addition, on November 26, 2013, BELLE shot and attempted to kill a rival gang member in the vicinity of the Bronx County Criminal Court.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New York City Police Department in the investigation of this case. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their support in this case.
