Law enforcement officials boasted the take-down of 10 suspected members of a Bronx street gang Wednesday.
The NYPD and the city Special Narcotics Prosecutor announced the suspects, all between the ages of 17 and 27, were indicted on charges ranging from conspiracy to commit murder to weapons possession and sales.
Authorities said the defendants are members of the Walton Townsend Gang, or WTG, known to police for drug dealing, gun sales and street violence. The NYPD said the gang was involved with seven shootings between January 2011 and November 2012.
Six firearms were seized during a long-term investigation that had police monitoring the “Top Five” and the “Big Homies,” the WTG’s tiers of leadership. Investigators also observed gang members’ communication with each other through social media sites, including Facebook, where they used coded lingo to talk about criminal activity, authorities said.
“The suspects apprehended today recruited gun-toting accomplices using social media apps. The violence that resulted went just as viral until the members of the NYPD 44th Precinct field intelligence unit and strategic enforcement teams stepped in,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Wednesday.
The attempted murder charge against Jarrell Daniels, also known as “Rell,” stems from a Sept. 21, 2011, shooting that nearly claimed the life of a member of the rival gang “Dub City,” the NYPD said.
Police released a video of a gun fight on Jerome Avenue near 171st Street on Sept. 25. Cops said Dominique Boyd, a 17-year-old WTG member, is the gunman.
