30 members of feuding NYC street gangs busted after bloody turf war that killed pregnant teen: ‘A climate of fear’
Three violent street gangs who terrorized upper Manhattan during a bloody six-year turf war are now out of commission — with 30 reputed gangbangers busted, prosecutors and police brass said Thursday.
The crews are responsible for half of all shootings in Inwood and Washington Heights, having turned the streets into a battlefield since the feud over turf broke out in 2018, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced at an afternoon press conference with the NYPD.
The casualties included seven murder victims, including four innocent bystanders, and the wounding of several others — among them a 19-year-old pregnant woman, authorities said.
“The violence did not impact just these defendants and their associates,” Bragg said. “It impacted the entire neighborhood, a climate of fear for ordinary residents who had no part in this violence.”
The DA said 18 reputed members of the “200/8 Block” gang were named on a wide-reaching indictment, along with eight alleged members of the “6 Block” crew and four from the “Own Every Dollar” gang.
Bragg said 11 members of 200/8 Block and one 6 Block member are charged with murder, while five 6 Block members were charged with attempted murder — and all 30 suspects were hit with gun charges.
The gunplay began with the shooting death of a 200/8 member, sparking the turf war.
One alleged gangbanger, Juan Lovelady, 26, was charged with supplying 6 Block with guns trafficked form Ohio — and made 17 sales to undercover cops, prosecutors said.
In late 2021, 200/8 members set out to take over marijuana selling turf on Dyckman Street, robbing a weed-selling van and getting into a gunfight with a lookout, who was killed in the exchange.
Meanwhile, 200/8 members allegedly bragged online about the violence, livestreaming videos of themselves with weapons and even taunting their rivals.
“Presbyterian [Hospital] does not have a trauma unit dawg,” one gangster messaged a 6 Block member on Instagram. “So be careful standing onnat block. Feel me. You might not make it to the next hospital.”
“The violence was as brazen as the talk,” Bragg said.
Last year, another 6 Block member approached a group hanging out on the street, asked if they were 200 members and opened fire, authorities said.
And last month, three 200/8 members pulled off a drive-by shooting at West 160th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, firing at 6 Block members but striking a 46-year-old innocent bystander.
“It’s gonna have a huge impact on Manhattan North and parts of the Bronx,” NYPD Deputy Chief Brian Gill of the Manhattan North detective bureau told reporters. “It’s just gonna have a huge impact, and we’ll continue to investigate and see what else we get from these cases as we go forward.
“I mean, just look at the pile of guns,” Gill added. “That’s 31 guns that’s not going to shoot anybody this year, or ever. They’re in our custody now.”
