FORDHAM — A total of 40 Bronx gang members have been indicted on conspiracy charges related to 40 acts of violence dating back to 2012, including four homicides and five stabbings, according to the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
The defendants include Latique "La Brim" Johnson, the 36-year-old suspected leader of the Nine-Four Crew, who gave out orders from his jail cell at Rikers Island, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
Johnson is currently incarcerated for another shooting, according to the Bronx DA's Office.
A 13-year-old boy who was allegedly used to sell drugs or hold guns for the older members was among the defendants and was charged in Family Court.
"The Nine-Four Crew’s disputes with Crips and other gangs led to numerous shootings that turned a swath of the Fordham neighborhood into a bloody battleground," Clark said in a statement.
Out of the 40 defendants, 18 were arrested yesterday, 19 were already incarcerated, and three are still at large, according to the district attorney.
Most have been arraigned and are due back in court on Nov. 2, according to the Bronx DA's Office.
The 95-count indictment includes charges of murder, manslaughter, conspiracy, assault, robbery and more.
The investigation into the Nine-Four crew began a year ago and revealed that members operated along E. 194th Street between Webster and Valentine avenues.
Members were mostly Blood Hound Brims, one of the largest chapters of Bloods on the East Coast, but they were also affiliated with Sex Money Murder, the Young Bosses, Macballas, Red House Gunners and Loyal Street Gangstas, according to the Bronx DA's Office.
The indictment holds gang members responsible for the deaths of Orlando Gonzalez, Angel Cesar, Leonard Hines and Jose Feliciano, all of which took place between June 2014 and October 2015.
Members are also accused of five stabbings, two non-fatal shootings, five felony assaults and seven robberies, including a U-Haul carjacking.
They would acknowledge each other by calling out "whoopty" when they saw each other, and would often brag about their shootings and stabbings on social media after they occurred, according to prosecutors.
"The year-long investigation that led to these indictments resulted in the recovery of five firearms and is the kind of precision police and investigative work that allows us to reduce crime by engaging and removing the bad actors from our streets," outgoing NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement.
