8 gang members indicted on attempted murder
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Eight members of the “30
Block” gang have been arrested
and indicted on a litany
of crimes in the city, including
two innocent bystander shootings
in the Bronx, a string of
robberies targeting NYC rideshare
drivers and fraudulently
acquiring more than $300,000
in federal pandemic relief,
Bronx and Manhattan district
attorneys jointly announced on
Aug. 3.
In the Bronx, eight defendants
affi liated with the 30
Block gang are being charged
with 155 counts including
the attempted murder plots
which led to the shootings of a
39-year-old man and a 52-yearold
woman, both bystanders, in
the Eastchester and Wakefi eld
sections of the Bronx, respectively.
According to the investigation
conducted by Bronx
County District Attorney Darcel
Clark, a Democrat, 22-yearold
Akeyele Baker and 21-yearolds
Daijon Crawford, Zykeith
Fearon an d Aaron Heredia
communicated a plan to shoot a
rival gang member through an
unidentifi ed social media app.
On Sept. 21, 2020, 30 Block
members approached their intended
target at On The Road
Auto Group car dealership on
Boston Road and fi red multiple
shots. A 39-year-old man — who
was at the dealership with his
three children — was caught in
the crossfi re and struck three
times while trying to shield his
children.
The man survived the
shooting, however, he still has
a bullet remain in his thigh,
according to the district attorney’s
report.
A second incident involving
Delroy Salmon, 21, occurred
on East 224th Street
when he, along with other gang
members, opened fi re on a rival
gang member, but instead
struck a 52-year-old female bystander.
According to reports, the
woman survived the incident
but has suffered a “life-altering”
injury.
In addition to the arrests,
law enforcement seized fi ve
guns and two large-capacity
magazines in connection with
the Bronx case.
During a briefi ng regarding
the case on Tuesday, Clark said
she would not allow gang members
to destroy the Bronx “bullet
BRONX TIMES R 18 EPORTER, AUG. 6-12, 2021 BTR
by bullet.”
“My Violent Criminal Enterprise
Bureau then conducted
an investigation and
tied the gang to the shootout in
a car dealership where a father
was wounded while protecting
his kids, and to a shooting on
the street targeting rival gang
members that instead wounded
a 52-year-old woman for life,”
Clark said. “With our law enforcement
partners, I will not
let people destroy the Bronx
bullet by bullet.”
In total, the defendants in
the Bronx case were arraigned
last week and are charged with
second-degree conspiracy, attempted
murder in the second
degree, fi rst-degree assault,
second-degree criminal possession
of a weapon and third-degree
criminal possession along
with possession drug charges.
In Manhattan, fi ve members
are being indicted for a
pattern of rideshare robberies
and fi nancial fraud that
resulted in gang members allegedly
receiving more than
$300,000 of state unemployment
funds designated for pandemic
relief.
According to the Manhattan
DA’s investigation from
April 2020 to May 2020, fi ve 30
Block members allegedly stole
an estimated $6,500 from Lyft
and Uber drivers in the city, in
a scheme that targeted nearly
50 drivers.
According to the report,
the defendants allegedly set
the pickup and drop-off destinations
at the same address.
When the rideshare driver
would notice the discrepancy,
members would allegedly ask
to use his phone to call a friend
and instead transfer the drivers’
in-app earnings to their
own personal bank accounts
using debit cards and mobile
banking apps like Cash App.
Additionally, from May 2020
to September 2020, fi ve defendants
allegedly used stolen
identities to secure more than
$300,000 in pandemic-related
unemployment funds from
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Alabama,
Mississippi and Tennessee.
Three defendants were able
to secure roughly $50,000 in
unemployment from New York
State.
Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark said she would not allow
gang members to destroy the Bronx “bullet by bullet” after indicting
eight members of the 30 Block gang on Aug. 3, 2021.
Photo courtesy Getty Images
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