The Money World and Trap Stars gangs had been stalking Queens County, where they staged several shootings in which innocent people were killed, but authorities arrested 33 people.
A report from the Queens District Attorney’s Office in New York informed about the arrest of the gang members, who were part of the rival groups.
These alleged criminals face 151 charges, including murder, following a three-year investigation that culminated in dismantling of two criminal groups and confiscating of 34 firearms.
Those arrested are between 17 and 40 years old and were part of rival gangs Money World and Trap Stars, which operated in and around a public housing project in Queens where they engaged in shootouts that left several injured, including innocent bystanders, according to a statement from the District Attorney’s Office.
The rivalry was fueled through networking and in rap videos, with both groups bragging about their violent exploits and taunting their rivals, which included disrespecting dead family members and friends, according to the DA’s office.
The murder charges against five of those arrested are for the death of a 14-year-old juvenile, Aamir Griffin, who, in October 2019, was playing basketball on a court when a Money World gang member, Shawn Brown, shot and killed him with 3 shots when he mistook him for a rival gang member.
Following the minor’s death, 22 shootings were reported in the area where they operated, and in one of those shootings, Sean Vance, 26, was killed by 8 shots while sitting inside his vehicle on December 31, 2020. He was shot by a Money World member – a murder planned by several people – because they believed he had been involved in a shooting that day of another gang member.
Judge Keneth C. Holder of the Queens Supreme Court set May’s next hearing against the defendants.
With information from EFE