Prosecutors said Diamond “Bo Gotti” Brown was the leader of a violent Bronx gang arrested last week. Cops investigated social media accounts of alleged 280 gang members.
Ten high-ranking members of a Bronx-based gang have been indicted on charges related to violent drug turf disputes, officials announced Monday.
Prosectors allege that the gang 280’s members participated in numerous murders and assaults using guns, razor blades and other weapons while fighting with other groups in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, including Dub City, WTG and 6 Wild.
Police arrested the 10 members Friday, charging them with conspiracy to commit murder, assault, narcotics possession and weapons possession.
The arrests are part of the NYPD’s Operation Crew Cut, through which 50 individuals have been indicted and 24 guns seized in the last 18 months.
“Today’s indictments are the culmination of a much larger investigation into four of the city’s most violent street crews, who since 2011 were responsible for murders, shootings, gun trafficking and narcotic distribution throughout the communities of the Bronx,” Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement.
Among those arrested last week were the alleged 280 leader, Diamond “Bo Gotti” Brown, and two of his “top lieutenants,” Jesus Perez and Guess Carter, all 21 years old and from the Bronx, officials said.
As part of the operation, cops investigated social media accounts, including Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, which authorities said were used to feud with other gangs and recruit new members.
On one occasion, Brown posted a message on his Facebook profile indicating that 280 gang members aim to shoot rivals in the head or chest and not their arms. According to the indictment, he wrote, “we hittin ur melon or ur chest Nevaa respected Arm Shots” on July 28, 2011, the same day a rival gang shot into a crowded restaurant where 280 members were gathered.
The eight-count indictment contains conspiracy charges related to 12 shootings involving 17 victims. Officials said the members sold crack cocaine, heroin and other drugs in part to pay for “communal firearms” for the gang.
“Reckless, wanton shootings detailed in the indictment forced innocent bystanders to take cover and neighborhoods to conduct daily business in great fear for their safety and security,” the city’s special narcotics prosecutor, Bridget Brennan, said in a statement.
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