Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban announced on Friday, Aug. 2, that 15 people, including 14 alleged members and associates of the “1300” gang, were charged under two separate indictments for allegedly conspiring to commit various violent crimes committed across The Bronx, including attempted murder (shooting), conspiracy and gang assault. One of the victims was a teenage girl and another an older adult. One of the associates is also charged separately for shooting four people and the group were also involved in a spate of carjackings and a gang assault of an off-duty police officer.

 

In the context of the announcement, Clark said, “The defendants continuously put the lives of innocent bystanders at risk with indiscriminate shootings, some during broad daylight, striking a 73-year-old woman who still suffers from the injury, and a 15-year-old girl. They put the entire community in danger.”

The defendants are Oshawn Logan, 20, aka “Sdot” of The Bronx, Jordon Tzul, 18, aka “JO” of The Bronx, Matthew Pinnock, 18, aka “Breezo” of The Bronx, Kyshawn Johnson, 23, aka “Kay Bzz” of The Bronx, Dreshawn Lucas, 20, aka “Dre Lu” of The Bronx, Jermaine Mitchell, 21, aka “CeeJay” of The Bronx, Jerrell Mitchell, 18, aka “Relly” of The Bronx, Kimberly Pinnock, 23, aka “Kimmy” of The Bronx, Ishmail Conteh, 18 aka “Moe” of The Bronx, Justin Warren, 20, aka “JD” of Mount Vernon, Kimani Crawley, 20, aka “Mani” of The Bronx, Amari Conner, 18, aka “Amiri” of The Bronx, Darya Campbell, 25 of The Bronx, J.M, 17, of The Bronx, and Isaac Garcia, 19, aka “Izzy” of The Bronx.

 

For his part, Caban said, “This indictment underscores the NYPD’s perseverance in identifying, investigating, and dismantling the violent criminal groups plaguing our communities. These arrests should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can terrorize our neighborhoods in any way: You will be held accountable for your criminal behavior. I commend our investigators and our partners in the Bronx District Attorney’s office for their steadfast commitment to our shared public safety mission.”

Johnson was arraigned on Aug. 1, and Lucas, and Conner were arraigned on July 30, all before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Seth Steed. They were each detained in custody. Johnson and Lucas are due back in court in October, and Conner in August.

 

Prosecutors said the nearly two-year investigation by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau and the NYPD Criminal Enterprise Investigation Section springboarded from a violent robbery on NYPD Officer Muhammed Chowdhury, who was off-duty and jogging in the Unionport/Castle Hill area, as reported at the time by Norwood News. 

 

Police said Chowdhury was knocked to the ground during the robbery, punched and kicked repeatedly, leaving him hospitalized for more than two weeks and sustaining life-altering injuries. Prosecutors said three of the defendants, Tzul, Logan, and Matthew Pinnock, have pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and additional charges in the Chowdhury assault. They said two of them have been sentenced to seven years in prison and the third awaits sentencing.

According to the prosecution, the defendants – alleged members and associates of the 1300 gang (purportedly named for 213^th Street) carried out six shootings in or near the Gun Hill [Houses] section of The Bronx, between April 2022 and September 2022, including the following incidents.

 

On April 12, 2022, at around 7 p.m., one of the defendants boarded an MTA bus and is seen pursuing other people after getting off the bus. He allegedly opened fire several times on East 225th Street, which stretches from Wakefield into Edenwald. One of the shots struck a 15-year-old girl in the leg as she got off the bus.

 

On April 26, 2022, at around 4:19 p.m., in the middle of a heavily crowded area in front of 3491 Baychester Avenue, also in the Edenwald section of the borough, one of the defendants allegedly opened fire at someone he was chasing.

On August 17, 2022, 13 of the defendants allegedly met at the home of one of the defendants, Matthew Pinnock, before carrying out two drive-by, retaliatory shootings against rival gang members. Four of the defendants allegedly left the home around midnight, carrying at least three guns to 3326 Fish Avenue in the Laconia section of the East Bronx where they shot at the home located at that address multiple times. The four defendants then proceeded to another location on Crotona Avenue and shot at someone there also.

 

Prosecutors said that on August 23, 2022, at around 4:15 p.m., five defendants reportedly believed a rival gang member was near one of their homes. They allegedly went to Grote Street and Prospect Avenue in the Belmont section of The Bronx where they believed other rival gang members were and started shooting there. A 73-year-old woman was struck by a bullet in her left leg as she sat outside a building and suffered life-altering injuries.

On August 27, 2022, one of the defendants was attending a candlelight vigil for a murder victim at the Parkside Houses, to the east of Bronx Park East and south of Gun Hill Houses. Upon seeing a rival gang member at the vigil, he allegedly shot at the rival and then threw his gun away. He was caught after a foot pursuit.

 

Prosecutors said a second, 30-count indictment charges Garcia and Johnson with more violent crime charges. Garcia was arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Seth Steed on July 30, 2024, and was held in custody. He is due back in court in August. Johnson was arraigned and held in custody on the previous indictment.

According to the indictment, on Sept. 9, 2022, Garcia allegedly got into a fight with a rival gang member after school. He allegedly communicated with Johnson and instructed him to get a gun from an apartment on Fish Avenue. Garcia allegedly retrieved the gun from Johnson, went to the Pelham Parkway Houses and allegedly fired at least 13 times into a crowd. Four innocent bystanders were shot.

 

During a press conference held at the Office of the Bronx District Attorney on Friday, Aug. 2, to announce the indictments, Norwood News asked if there was a link between a spate of carjackings reported across The Bronx preceeding the attack on Officer Chowdhury and the recent arrests.

 

A member of law enforcement responded, saying in a part, “Yes, there was. This crew was responsible for carjackings. A matter of fact, there was a pattern created in and around those six incidents that I mentioned earlier on that August morning. It all stemmed from a carjacking so they are responsible for carjackings. It wasn’t included in the actual indictment, but they were charged with other carjackings prior and now they’re right over there where they can do no carjacking so yes, they were a part of it, but it’s halted.’

 

The cases are being prosecuted by Ronald W. Sannicandro, deputy chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Stephen J. Russo, and Assistant District Attorney Marc Russell of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau, under the supervision of Newton Mendys, chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Denise Kodjo, deputy chief of the Investigations Division, and Wanda Perez-Maldonado, chief of the Investigations Division.

Clark thanked Trial Preparation Assistants Victor Ortiz, Alijah Baker, Netanya Pierrot, and Nathanielle Filius of the Investigations Division, Intelligence Analyst Gabrielle Aarons of the Crime Strategies Bureau, Laboratory Director Selena Ley of the Digital Forensics Lab, and Peter Kennedy, chief of the Technical Investigation Bureau, NYPD Detective Daniel Angen of the District Attorney’s Squad, and Bronx DA Detective Investigators John Might and Nicholas Russo.

 

She also thanked NYPD Detective Jacob Gianelli, Lieutenant Benjamin Nelson, Inspector Osvaldo Nunez, and Captain Romaine Wilson of the Criminal Enterprise Investigation Section, along with members of the 47th and 49th Precincts and School Safety Officers who assisted with the investigations.

 

Additional thanks was given to NYPD Detective Kyle Keiser of the 49th Precinct Detective Squad, NYPD Officer Christopher Multari of the evidence collection team, Jonathan Ortiz of the NYPD tapes and records unit, and Luis Santiago of NYCHA for their work on the case resulting in the second indictment.

The first 88-count indictment includes charges of second-degree conspiracy, five counts of first-degree criminal use of a firearm, five counts of attempted murder in the second degree, first-degree assault, first-degree gang assault, five counts of second-degree criminal use of a firearm, ten counts of attempted assault in the first-degree, 17 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, three counts of attempted gang assault in the first-degree, second-degree gang assault, three counts of third-degree conspiracy, six counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, three counts of second-degree assault, three counts of fourth degree conspiracy, nine counts second-degree attempted assault, nine counts of criminal possession of a firearm and six counts of second-degree reckless endangerment.

 

The second 30-count indictment includes charges of second-degree conspiracy, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, four counts of second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal use of a firearm, eight counts of attempted assault in the first-degree, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, four counts of second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, fourth-degree conspiracy, four counts of attempted assault in the second-degree, criminal possession of a firearm, and second-degree reckless endangerment.

 

While, as above, some of the defendants have already been sentenced for some crimes already, all are presumed innocent in relation to the remaining charges, unless and until convicted in a court of law.