Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and Raymond P. Donovan, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today that KAREEM DAVIS, an alleged member of the “Killbrook” gang based in the Mill Brook Houses in the Bronx, was arrested and charged in connection with the April 18, 2011, murder of Bolivia Beck, the girlfriend of a rival gang member. Beck was shot and killed as she was being introduced to her boyfriend’s grandparents on a sidewalk in the Mill Brook Houses. DAVIS will be arraigned in Manhattan federal court later today before United States Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.
Fifteen individuals were previously charged in an initial Indictment unsealed on October 11, 2017. That Indictment charged four individuals, including Gary Davis, the brother of KAREEM DAVIS, with racketeering conspiracy, in connection with their membership in the Killbrook gang, and charged other individuals with narcotics conspiracy and firearms offenses. On January 8, 2018, Gary Davis was charged with the 2011 murder of Beck. The Superseding Indictment adds KAREEM DAVIS as the second defendant charged with that murder. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Bolivia Beck was murdered in 2011, in the most horrible and tragic of circumstances. Over seven years have passed, but our remarkable partners at the NYPD and DEA have remained committed to holding her killers accountable. As a result, Kareem Davis now stands charged with this terrible crime.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Raymond P. Donovan said: “This investigation into the Killbrook Gang uncovered a racketeering conspiracy involving drug trafficking, firearms offenses and murder. Allegedly, Bolivia Beck was put in the crosshairs of gang rivalry and gang violence by Kareem and Gary Davis, both of whom are charged with murder. There is no place for criminal gang activity in our communities and law enforcement is working to remove threats of violence by putting those responsible in jail.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment[1] and information in the public record:
On April 18, 2011, Bolivia Beck was struck in the head by a bullet as she was being introduced to her boyfriend’s grandparents on a sidewalk in the Mill Brook Houses. The shooting occurred in broad daylight. Beck died two days later from the gunshot wound. The shooting arose out of an ongoing gang dispute between Killbrook and the rival “MBG” street gang.
KAREEM DAVIS, 29, of the Bronx, New York, is charged in the Superseding Indictment with one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of murder in aid of racketeering and aiding and abetting the same, and one count of murder through the use of a firearm and aiding and abetting the same. DAVIS faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and the DEA.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
